Kallo'Yel Book II: Stuck with You
by Holly-chan
Summary: CHAP 19 UP See what happens when you group an odd druid, an elven werewolf, an uptight ranger, a mischevious thief, a Waukeen cleric, and a bard together. Cowritten w Tiger of the Wind1. Feedback motivates us...
1. Chapter 1

**Authors' Notes**

**_Holly-chan:_**_ Hello and welcome to the second installment of the Kallo'Yel series: Stuck with You. This installment is MUCH longer than Black Druid, but it is also being co-written in many parts by my dear friend SL, who goes by Tiger of the Wind1 here. Read her other stories, dammit! …Uh… after you read this, that is. ; But anyway… if you haven't read "The Black Druid" yet, you don't have to in order to understand this story; heck, you actually might be more surprised if you didn't read it; but it's up to you. (You can find it in my author profile.) For those of you who did read Black Druid, keep in mind this takes place a year after the end of the last book; what Serosa'ruth and Ky'itae did in the year before the start of this story will come up later, so don't ask about that._

_This story is still in progress; so far, there are over 75,000 words written by SL and myself, but there are "gaps" we've left, so to speak, that need to be filled in before the chapters are posted. Not to mention I'm going to college in a week, and SL's gonna be in her senior year of high school, so we might not have as much time to write together. Still, we've already got a good chunk of the story ready, so… good for you, the reader! ;_

_Oh -- If you catch any mistakes -- grammar, punctuation (though that might be FF-net's fault… it seems to like removing half the punctuation in the stories I submit…), and whatnot, please, let us know so we can fix it. Praise is always nice, but so is constructive criticism -- NOT flames -- constructive crits help us improve as writers. If you've read this far, I thank you and hope you enjoy Stuck with You._

**Chapter 1**

Serosa'ruth sighed, looking up at the mid-afternoon sky from his perch in the tree. Even after a decade on the surface, the sunlight still stung his eyes slightly. Grateful for his cloak hood, the elf pulled his cowl down, shading his eyes more. A fighter of notable skill, the fae also delved in the druidic arts, his alias and brown/green attire attesting to the fact.

He was dressed quite oddly -- Baggy, thin, earth green leather pants covered his legs down to his shins, where his enchanted boots of speed began. A loose cattle leather shirt, dyed green, covered his torso up to his biceps, serving as light armor. Simple enchantments enhanced protectiveness of the clothing. Reddish-brown bindings ran down the elf's arms, concealing his skin up to his wrists. Leather gloves reached up to an inch below Serosa'ruth's elbow, and over them were padded bracers.

Two belts stretched over Serosa'ruth's shoulders, under his cloak, and met at a metal ring in the center of his chest. On the bottom of the ring, another vertical belt extended downwards, hooked to the buckle of the belt around his waist.

This semi elaborate system was meant to hold his two swords in place on his mid-back. His black cowl was pulled over his head, and a long piece of cloth covered the lower half of his slightly long face. Blue eyes peered out from green skin. A simple enchantment kept his skin that earthen color; he could remove it at will, but so far, his skin remained emerald. Obviously, this druid wanted to keep his subrace a secret.

Sighing once more, Serosa'ruth leaned back against the tree, folding his arms behind his head. Things had been slow in the adventuring department recently. He'd spent a good portion of the last year hunting down orcs with his moon elf companion, whom he'd actually met in a battle with orcs. The two had become close friends quite fast, and while he enjoyed the other elf's companionship, he was itching to see some action in the field of battle soon. Unfortunately, the duo had heard little news of orcs, or any other trouble, since entering Triboar.

"What the hell is this?" exclaimed a rather odd looking woman. At least, odd by the town of Triboar's standards. Much like Serosa'ruth, she seemed to prefer "green" as her theme -- all of her clothes, save for her boots and belt, were some varying shade of it. A medium-green tunic adorned her torso and stopped about half a foot from her knees -- there she wore equally green, somewhat loose pants. The short sleeves of her tunic inches before her elbow, leaving the rest of her arm bare. Dark chestnut boots covered her feet just past the ankles. She wore an olive cloak with its hood pulled down; a clasp in the shape of a unicorn head -- symbol of Mielikki, goddess of rangers -- held the cape in place.

The young woman of short, raven black hair and medium brown skin thrust a short sword dangerously close to a large man's face. He edged back a bit nervously, although he looked just as angry as she was. "You call _this_ a short sword! I couldn't cut butter with this thing!" Her odd eyes -- the right emerald, the left a dark brown -- flared in irritation.

"What you see is what you get, lady," The man growled, crossing his thick and hairy arms over his chest. Muttering a few choice words under her breath, the woman snapped the short sword back into its case, threw the amount of money on the counter and stalked out of the store.

Adjusting the pack of arrows on her back and the finely crafted wooden bow, the half-elf tucked a strand of hair behind her right pointed ear, donned with a simple gold ring earring. "What a joke," She muttered to herself, pulling the sword free and examining the, by her standards, rather dull blade. "Ugh... it'll do for now, I guess..."

"A wild half-elf in a human settlement? And a woodswoman at that, by appearances. Certainly an odd sight, eh Ky'itae?" Serosa'ruth still remained on his limb perch, but he looked down at his companion, a young, probably mid-adolescence (by fey standards) female elf, clad in a reddish-brown tunic, pants, and an old breastplate with matching metal gauntlets. Similar metal boots adorned her feet and legs just below her knees. The moon elf, Ky'itae, placed a fairly pale hand on her chin, her hazel eyes narrowed in thought as she brushed her mid-back length chestnut hair aside.

"Indeed, it is, Serosa'ruth." she agreed with her partner, "Perhaps there is some occurrence in the woods nearby that we should know about?" The moon elf asked out loud, aimed at both her partner and the half-elf. She too craved to find some adventuring to do. Sitting around wasn't a favorite pastime of hers.

The woman, who had been tossing the small sword up and down, stopped in mid throw and glanced over her shoulder. She caught the sword as it fell and arched an eyebrow at Ky'itae, studying her and her partner. "If by 'occurrences' you mean 'weird stuff', then yeah, you could say that."

"I've seen many a strange thing in my young life," Serosa'ruth noted, hopping down from the tree, landing on his feet effortlessly, "So, pray tell m'lady, what you would define as 'weird stuff?'"

The half-elf shrugged, suddenly weary of making conversation with these elves. She placed the short sword back into its sheath, eyeing Serosa'ruth's odd choice of attire. "Mainly all the disappearances that have occurred from the various elf settlements that dwell there. Their members seem to vanish and no one can track them down. Animals found dead, empty of their blood, yet no wounds can be found. Stuff like that." The ranger fumbled with the strap as she tried to tie her new blade around her waist. "I haven't seen any of it myself, however. Just heard the rumors."

"As a druid, I must take any threat to the forest seriously, even if it's only rumors," Serosa'ruth stated grimly, then added with a twinkle in his blue orbs, "and as a fighter, I can't waste a chance to battle monsters when I can. Thanks for the information. Coming, Ky'itae?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." The moon elf huffed, insuring her bastard sword was secure in its sheath before following the concealed druid.

The half-elf woman thought for a moment before hurrying after them. "I'll come with you, if you don't mind. I've got nothing better to do."

Serosa'ruth cocked his head at her, "If you intend to come to help for the sake of aiding nature, or perhaps even for the sense of adventure in itself, you are welcome with open arms. If you expect a money reward, I suggest you change your plans. On the occasion Ky'itae and myself collect, it is rarely more than what we need to pay for provisions."

The woman chuckled, running her finger along her new blade's edge. "I have no need for money, don't worry. Well, not at the moment... ouch!" Her finger disappeared into her mouth and thin red line ran down the side of the short sword. _Wow, that was smart..._

Serosa'ruth muttered a very brief evocation, flicking his fingers in her direction. The small cut quickly closed up, leaving no mark or sign it had been there at all, save for a small spot of dried blood.

"Try to avoid that in the future," the druid advised, turned around and passing through the town's gates, "I only have so many cure spells saved up, most of them meant for more severe wounds."

The half-elf blinked in surprise, staring stupidly at her finger and nearly walking into a tree in the process. "Huh? Oh... r-right." What surprised her was not the magic, but the act of kindness. She had experienced little of it in her lifetime from strangers. "Thanks."

"Welcome." The elven druid muttered, then fell silent as he continued westward, down the path leading to the Krypt Garden Forest. Ky'itae looked back briefly to ensure the woman still followed, then caught up with her concealed companion's stride.

The half-elf ranger watched them from behind silently, unsure of what to make of them. She figured she was putting too much thought into this, but there was something about them that she couldn't figure out. _Hm... Since when did I get so curious about people...?_ She yawned, and stretched her arms behind her head, enjoying the walk. _I wish I had some clue as to what we're even looking for..._

- - -

Ky'itae rubbed her half-bare arms, shivering slightly. Even in the early spring, Faerûn's north remained chilly at most times. Her homeland lay a hundred or so miles south, so the moon elf was used to slightly warmer weather. The three of them had traveled for a few hours in silence, not even bothering to exchange names -- looking out for tracks and clues proved more important at the moment. Up ahead, the elf could see the path finally leading into the forest and felt a slight sting of apprehension. Something about the woods felt… well, _wrong_.

_Hmph__... I can't get a clue or.. ? _The ranger stopped abruptly and took several steps backwards. She crouched down and touched the ground. The grass was flat. Completely and utterly flat. And the depth told it. "A very large creature passed by here," She called to the two elves in front. "Might be what we're looking for."

The two elves turned around and backtracked, Serosa'ruth kneeling down to inspect the large footprint closely.

"Any idea of what made it?" Ky'itae, though raised in the woods and more knowledgeable in the wilderness than most humans, was a warrior, not a druid or ranger, and so she trusted her companions' skills over her own in such matters.

"A bit small for a giant," Serosa'ruth observed, running his gloved fingers over the footprint, "but then again, it could be a giant of shorter stature. I really can't say. Perhaps our new companion might be able to enlighten us?" He trailed, looking up at the half-elf.

She smiled slightly. "It's 'Saeola.' Anyway... You're right that it's not a giant." Her eyes traveled back to the print and a troubled look crosses her face. "This may sound weird, but... I don't know. This doesn't seem like any creature that exists naturally..."

"Could be from another plane, perhaps conjured by a wizard." Serosa'ruth suggested, rising. "Shall we follow the prints? I can see the next one a few yards away from me, now that I know what to look for."

Saeola nodded and stood. She fixed the strap that held her case of arrows and took her bow in hand before glancing at the two. "I'm sorry. I never got your names."

"Ky'itae Rilynn'lylth." The moon elf gave a slight bow with her head, motioning for her druid friend to introduce himself.

"Serosa'ruth, just Serosa'ruth." The concealed elven male said, dipping his own head slightly.

Saeola gave Serosa'ruth a thoughtful look. "Hmm... An interesting name. Nice to meet you both." She gave a slight nod of her head as well and turned, heading off after the tracks. _"Nature's Fury"... interesting indeed._

Serosa'ruth gave another shallow bow, this time leaning his torso over slightly as he stretched out his covered arms, "Well, I am a druid as well as a fighter, after all." He stated simply, then turned on his heel, his black cape billowing out behind him as he treaded for the next large footprint in the ground.

Saeola had only walked a few move paces when she found a the next foot print. She studied it briefly before continuing on. "We're getting warmer."

Serosa'ruth nodded in agreement, running his leather-clad hand along the edges of the footprint, "True, but it looks like whatever it was picked up the pace when it reached here. The tracks still probably go for some hundred yards into the woods, unless it's stopped suddenly."

Saeola shook her head, speeding up her pace. She tightened her grip on her bow. "It either knows we're coming and is fleeing... or it's waiting for us. Well, we'll find out soon enough, huh?"

Ky'itae grinned, her hand on her bastard sword's hilt, "Either way, looks like a good way to liven up an otherwise dull day." She kept up the pace with the other two easily, even in her metal boots as the three of them entered the forest.

Saeola glanced over her shoulder at Ky'itae and chuckled. "I hear ya." She stopped suddenly, frowning. She glanced around, as if expecting to see something. But there was nothing. "Hm.. the prints stop here."

The druid paused, scanning the trees, his hands flying to the swords strapped to his mid-back, crisscrossing under his cloak. He didn't unsheathe them, but kept his hands gripped on the hilts tightly as he scanned the forest. "There is something... unnatural here." He snarled. A moment later, something burst through the trees, standing before the trio.


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Serosa'ruth was far from wrong. The creature was very unnatural. It was huge -- the size of a tree -- and looked like someone had gone to work with stitches. Patches of skin from many different people and creatures of all colors made up its body. One arm was shorter than the other, and its face was barely there, so badly deformed it was. Male, female? Elf, human? Who knew? It was its own species now.

The creature stared at the trio blankly, then suddenly, sluggishly, lurched forward, swinging its uneven arms about. Serosa'ruth easily dodged the swings, unsheathing his blades in the process.

"Should've known. A Flesh Golem. Gods know my old home had many of them..." he said with distaste. Ky'itae gave him a quick sympathetic look, then withdrew her own weapon and charged forward.

__

Time to test my new blade already, huh? Saeola chuckled, unsheathing it. She quickly ducked underneath the slow creature's fists and took a swing at its stomach.

Their weapons sliced through cleanly, sending blood spraying into the air, but still the creature moved onward. Serosa'ruth leapt back, resheathing his blades. He brought his gloved hands together, twirling his fingers about in intricate patterns, muttering a Druidic phrase through his covered lips.

Recognizing the spell, Ky'itae quickly sheathed her bastard sword and pulled Saeola back with her, clearing the area around the golem. Pointing his fingers at the ground beneath the abomination, the druid shouted his final incantation, nothing happening for a moment. Then, suddenly, the ground rumbled. The earth opened up beneath the flesh golem, and a geyser of hot steam slammed into it, sending the abomination flying into the nearby distance.

Saeola blinked, a bit stunned by the spell. Magic had never been her strong point. At most, she knew how to start a small fire with a spell. Other than that, magic was something she felt unnecessary. Perhaps, she had told herself, if she found the right teacher, she would learn it. "Not bad," She called to Serosa'ruth, nodding her thanks to Ky'itae for getting her out of the way. "While it's down, any ideas on how to beat it?"

"Golems, even flesh ones, are more susceptible to bludgeoning weapons." The elf male retorted, hacking off an already damaged limb from a nearby tree. "If I was a normal druid, I'd be using clubs already, but I'm a swordsman first and foremost, so this isn't really my kind of preferred fight." He readied himself as the golem slowly regained composure.

"Then I suppose my arrows are useless," Saeola sighed. But swords worked. She bolted toward the Golem, slicing off one foot with a clean swipe. Perhaps the new sword was sharper than she'd originally thought.

The golem stumbled, but managed to pound the nimble half-elf in its descent. Serosa'ruth charged, smashing his branch club against the golem's head. Ky'itae came from the back, also armed with a makeshift club. She clobbered the flesh golem's thigh, throwing it more off balance.

Saeola winced, feeling something in her arm snap as she attempted to dodge the golem's swing. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she used her used her other arm to throw her sword into the golem's side, hoping the force would knock it over.

The golem stumbled, but didn't quite tip. It swung stupidly at the ranger, but finally fell over when it attempted to shift its balance over to its shortened leg. Tumbling over, the golem hit the ground with a thud that shook the surrounding area. Controlling his balance, Serosa'ruth leapt atop the monstrosity and began to attack ferociously with his makeshift weapon, smashing in critical parts of the golem's body.

Saeola, now without a weapon, wasn't about to remain useless. With surprising speed, she dropped her case of arrows from her back and used her teeth as a second hand to notch an arrow. She aimed the best she could and fired it toward the golem's head. _Well, it's gotta hit something..._

The arrow flew through the air. Serosa'ruth, noticing its movement, quickly swung his foot out of the way just before the missile slammed into the golem's yellowed eye. The creature roared in fury, pulling itself halfway off the ground before Ky'itae climbed up its shoulders and whacked her club into the arrow, driving it deeper into the monster's skull. The golem stumbled, then fell over, soundless.

There was silence all around. The usual chirping birds having long since fled the scene upon the golem's arrival. Saeola sighed, slumping back to her knees, her broken arm hanging useless at her side. "I'm glad _that's_ over with..."

Serosa'ruth tossed his club aside and hopped off the defeated twisted creation. The elven man knelt down by the younger adventurer and extended his hand outward. "Lemme see your arm."

Saeola nodded and turned so that her injured arm faced Serosa'ruth. She watched him carefully, if not a bit suspiciously.

The druid twirled his fingers and once again began an incantation, this time a white glow emitting from below his fingers. The sound of bones snapping back into place cut through the virtual silence, though the actual healing caused no pain. Serosa'ruth withdrew his hand, standing up once more, his black cloak fluttering with the movement. "That was my only stronger healing spell for the day. Make good use of it."

She winced at the sound. Although there was no pain, the sound was sickening and gave her mind the feeling that there, in fact, _should_ be pain. When he was finished, she worked her arm a bit, rolling it in its socket. "Heh... yeah. Thanks a bunch."

"Just make sure I don't use up all my limited healing spells in one day, all right?" The druid's eyes, the only real visible part of his face, closed in a smile before he turned to inspect the golem. "Hmm... Golems usually have some sort of sign or marking on them to show whose 'property' they are... wizards, especially necromancers, are the only ones who make such creatures. What I want to know is... why let such a thing loose in a forest?"

Saeola stood, gathering her bow and arrows, shrugging the case back onto her back. Her eyes follow the druid's gaze. "I don't know..."

"Maybe it got loose on accident," Ky'itae suggested. She then shrugged and poked at the dead monstrosity, "It's a good possibility, ya know. Perhaps following any trail it may have left would give us answers? After all, we do have a ranger here, Serosa'ruth's a pretty good tracker himself, and I grew up in a forest. Tracking shouldn't be hard."

Saeola shrugged. "Sure, I'm interested in this. It probably made a large trail due to its size, so it shouldn't be too hard. I'm up for it if you two are."

Ky'itae finally dropped her club and turned to the others, "Sero and I are adventurers. This is what we do." She grinned widely, her smile almost seeming to reach her elongated ears.

Saeola smiled back, chuckling softly. "And I'm a wanderer. Sounds like this may work out after all." She pulled her sword out of the golem's side and sheathed it. Serosa'ruth motioned the women to follow him, and thus the trio ventured onwards, deeper into the forest.

- - -

The trio easily detected the golem's trail and began following it in relative silence. After a while, Serosa'ruth, still scanning the area with his blue eyes, spoke up. "Have you adventured for long, Saeola?"

Saeola shrugged with one shoulder. "Long enough, I suppose. I've lost track of exactly how long, I'm afraid. And what about you? How long have to two been traveling together?"

Ky'itae counted on her fingers, but before she could speak, Serosa'ruth simply replied, "About a year, give or take a few weeks. Normally we'd make it much further south within that time, but we ran into a lot of minor quests in the local areas that took up much of our time."

Saeola chuckled again, stretching her arms over her head. "Sounds like you both have an unhealthy like of adventures," She teased lightly, eyes watching the suddenly movement of a rabbit scurrying by.

"We're warriors. What do you expect?" Serosa'ruth chuckled, gazing at the sky through squinted eyes, "Any excuse to be out in nature is good enough for me."

Saeola turned her eyes back to Serosa'ruth, watching his back. "I would expect nothing less from a druid. Where do you come from, anyway?" She glanced at Ky'itae, aiming the question at her as well.

"Far away." Was all the answer the druid gave the half-elf. As if sensing his discomfort, Ky'itae quickly brought the attention to herself by answering the ranger's question.

"I'm from a small city... really more of a large town... in the Misty Forest, so I've come quite a distance myself, though we seem to be heading south again, towards my home."

Serosa'ruth's odd reaction did not go unnoticed, but Saeola said nothing of it. She smiled at Ky'itae. "Perhaps we'll stop by your hometown, then."

Ky'itae bit her lip, glancing at Serosa'ruth briefly, "Perhaps, but I'm in no rush. My father's a retired general, and he's not expecting to see me back soon. He knows I have too much of his curious nature in me to return home after such a short time."

Saeola eyed them both oddly, then shrugged. "Just a suggestion." _These two sure do act oddly..._

"What about you? Where do you come from? I've never seen a half-wild elf before, though from your skin tone and hair color, I can easily tell that's what you are." Serosa'ruth noted, turning his head in the ranger's direction, "The fact you're a ranger is no surprise, but out here in the world of humans, dwarves, and other races? The fact you even exists points to a rarity. Wild elves don't really like contact with the outside world, even other elves."

Saeola chuckled dryly. "Just call me the black sheep of my very small race." Her eyes scanned the land they passed, picking up on every detail out of habit. Details were important to remember as a ranger. "You can imagine," She continued after a moment, "that I get a lot of odd looks for that very reason. Although... I'm not sure you'd understand."

"The only sure thing in a natural world is death." Serosa'ruth replied simply, "Perhaps you should never assume. Of course, we all assume things at least a handful of times in our life, so I suppose it's unavoidable."

She made a face at something across a field before glancing toward Serosa'ruth's back. "Spoken wisely... unfortunately there are the people like me who assume too often. A flaw in my character, I suppose."

"Everyone has their flaws and biases." Serosa'ruth assured, "Not even the gods are perfect."

"Too true... and some are more biased than others." Ky'itae sighed, thinking of the majority of the fey folk's horrid xenophobia to all non-elves.

"Heh, true," Saeola replied simply, glancing away once again to watch the environment. She had always found it ironic that the gods they worshipped were very mortal. Then again, that was probably her thinking too hard again.

Serosa'ruth scanned the area with the ranger as the trio came to a larger clearing, where an ancient ruin lay. Broken statues of idols and heroes lent to the druid's belief that it was an archaic temple of some long dead god. Or, at least, the deity's worshippers had long since moved. He innately sensed something wrong, then finally pinpointed his druid senses detecting an oddity.

"It's... too quiet here. In fact, it's perfectly silent, save for the sounds we're making." He noted, turning to the women. "Do you notice it too?"

Saeola stopped walking as well, frowning. "Yes, I noticed it a few seconds before you said anything. Even the winds have fled this place..." She walked over to a large slab with runes carved into it, every step making a sound that was ten times louder in the silence. She crouched down in front of it, examining it curiously as if she could read it. But she couldn't, of course. "I wonder what race built this place?" She wondered out loud.

Ky'itae examined the runes carefully, but shook her head, also befuddled. "I have no idea." Serosa'ruth huffed to himself, squinting at the markings. His eyes briefly lit with surprise. He ran his fingers along the words, muttering in some foreign tongue, too low for the females to detect his exact words.

"...This... this is an ancient Vhaeraun settlement. It must've been abandoned at least a dozen centuries ago, I'd wager."

"Vhaeraun?" Saeola asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise. "I've never heard of him… is he another long-dead god?" She stood, shifting her bow and case of arrows on her back. Her eyes scanned the crumbled temple. "It still doesn't explain the silence of death surrounding this place."

"Oh, Vhaeraun is by no means dead, my ranger friend," Serosa'ruth answered, "He's the drow god of thievery, deception, drow males, and looks to uniting the entire fey race against all the 'lesser' races. Though he's an unofficial foe of his mother, Lloth, he's still evil and sinister. His followers may be limited in number, but they are devout. I'd say this temple was abandoned to avoid detection by humans or other races moving in too close to the area." The elven druid continued his examination of the place, looking for an answer to the sense of... wrongness choking the field.

The half-elf blinked at his words, then laughed sheepishly. "Right. I knew that…"

"Most surfacers don't know who he is. Dark elves tend to hide their culture as best they can up here. That's what I was taught, at least." Serosa'ruth pointed out, tapping the stone walls with his knuckles. "Hm..." his innate senses told him of a strong magical aura nearby. "I don't know for sure, but I get the feeling that some sort of wizard has converted this abandoned dwelling into a gate to his home. It would make sense for someone who doesn't want unexpected company."

Saeola placed a finger to her chin in thought and frowned, eyes staring into the sky as if it would drop the answers she sought. She perked up at Serosa'ruth's words and snapped her fingers. "You think the person who made that golem used this place?"

"I believe that's exactly where he was leading." Ky'itae commented with a knowing smirked aimed at Serosa'ruth. The druid nodded, still tapping on the walls and sensing the magical energy growing stronger as he moved on.

"It probably needs a password or activation incantation. Very likely in Drow, as some of these runes are fairly new." He pointed at some oddly placed glyphs, unfaded and fresh.

Saeola frowned. "Drow, huh?" She didn't consciously mean for those words to sound disgusted, but she couldn't really help it. Drow were evil, none of them, nor anything of theirs could be trusted. She crouched down beside a larger slab and touched the runes engraved there. "Then unless either one of you know Drow..." She trailed off and glanced over her shoulder at them.

"A Banes phlith, pahntar nindol videnn." Serosa'ruth's voice took on an odd accent as he uttered the phrases just loud enough for both women to hear. He waved his hand over the runes as he spoke, the glyphs glowing yellow as he activated them. They dissolved into the stone, a dull orange portal the size of a half-orc opening before the druid. Serosa'ruth's eyes glittered in semi-smug satisfaction.

Saeola blinked several times before grinning, dropped her hands to her hips. "That was flawless. You've either gotten around or you're a drow yerself." The last part was said jokingly.

"'Know your enemy' as some elves believe. I only know a few phrases myself." Ky'itae answered for the druid, patting the male on the back as he straightened himself. "Well, shall we go?"

"Here's hoping it's not a trick gate meant to trap fools." Serosa'ruth sighed, leaping into the portal.

Saeola chuckled dryly. "Then we die a fools death, right?" And she followed in after them.


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Serosa'ruth stumbled slightly, but quickly regained his balance as he landed on damp, stony ground. His eyes began to glow red in intense heat vision, using the infrared spectrum to scan the surrounding area. Ky'itae and Saeola arrived shortly after him, and the druid noted with a mental sigh that the portal was a one-way trip; at least, he surmised, without another incantation -- probably a different one -- to reopen it. He shrugged to himself and the women, "Well, no way to go for now but forward."

Saeola landed not so gracefully on her bottom and grumbled under her breath, rubbing her sore rump with a scowl. She then blinked at his words and glanced behind her. Nothing. "Well, this looks promising," She said flatly, turning away to glance at their surroundings.

Ky'itae, her own eyes glowing -- though not nearly as brightly as Serosa'ruth's -- in heat vision, scanned the walls. "Well, there's more drow glyphs here, so we might be able to exit from here, but it probably is a better idea to search around first."

Saeola's own Darkvision kicked in and she also surveyed the area, pulling herself to her feet as she did. But all she could do was confirm what Ky'itae and Serosa'ruth had already pointed out. "Yeah. After all, we came here for a reason... To see if the person who created that creature is here."

Serosa'ruth kept one arm up to grasp his sword hilt, the other to use the wall as a guide and support. The elven male peered around a corner, his eyes narrowing. "Hm. There's a few armed skeletons down there," he whispered, "A strong sign that we're either in a cursed crypt or a necromancer's lair, though from the lack of tombs, I suspect the latter. Too bad I don't have that trunk club with me. Swords are even more useless against these guys than the flesh golem. Cutting through bone won't work... we'll just entangle our blades. Hm..." He stroked his covered chin.

Saeola frowned. "Well... is it possible to disable them at least so we can get by? I can shoot off an arm or leg easily from here." She shrugged her shoulders so that the case of arrows on her back clattered together very softly to emphasize her point.

"You'd have to launch at least two or three arrows together to get enough force to--" Before the eldest adventurer could finish, Ky'itae silently charged forward, one of her steel boots in hand. Coming up behind the patrolling skeletons, the elf woman used her boot as a hard bludgeon to knock the skulls from their bodies. Most collapsed with the removal of their heads, and those that remained Ky'itae quickly beat into submission. Within moments, all six guards littered the ground. Ky'itae turned to her companions, smiling smugly as she placed her boot back on.

"...Or we could do that." Serosa'ruth muttered.

Saeola stared for a long moment then cracked up, desperately smothering it with a slender hand. "Yeah, that was definitely more effective." She flashed Ky'itae a victory sign and a goofy grin. "I like the way you think, girl."

Ky'itae returned the gesture with an even goofier smirk, "Well, that makes two of us. Methinks I nearly gave Mr. Nature's Wrath here a heart attack. Suck it up, Serosa'ruth, we women can hold our own down here."

Serosa'ruth shook his head and continued down the hall, grumbling about proper tactics.

Saeola followed, still chuckling, and whacked Serosa'ruth rather hard on the back. Of course, it probably felt no stronger than a normal hit to him. "Sometimes you plan, other times you just kill and plan later."

The concealed elf continued to mumble incoherently and indignantly.

The ranger laughed and hurried to fall into steps beside Ky'itae. Although she really had nothing to say, she didn't feel like wandering through this place with a muttering incoherent male.

"Don't mind him," Ky'itae chuckled, "From what I know, he's had years of military training, so he's very anal about these things." The brown-haired elf grinned.

She grinned back, giving her a thumbs-up. "I guessed something like that. Still... He's gotta learn that planning can be a waste of time sometimes." She bent her arms behind her head and turned her eyes to the ceiling. "Sometimes you don't have the time."

"You can still think in a moment without killing needed time." The male half-snapped.

"Isn't that what I did?" Ky'itae smirked.

"... Be silent."

Saeola just laughed again and shook her head.

Serosa'ruth rolled his glowing eyes, "Women..." He halted, squinting his eyes at the passage ahead. "Saeola, are you good at disarming traps?"

She stopped walking and glanced over her shoulder at him curiously. "Yeah. Why, one up ahead?" She glanced ahead and squinted, attempting to spot it.

"A lot of them. A few magical. I can try to break down the magic on some of them, but I'm no wizard, so I doubt I'll be able to do much."

She nodded and took out an arrow, eyes focused on the trap she had just spotted. She notched the arrow, pulling back, aimed and fired a perfect shot.

A click signaled the trap's deactivation. Serosa'ruth pulled a small dagger from his boot and groped along the wall, using the blade to deactivate the minor triggers.

Her eyes scanned for more traps as she notched another arrow. She found one, aimed and fired. Another click resounded and she smirked. "Piece O' Cake."

Serosa'ruth twitched. "Don't... move... your... foot..."

Saeola flinched and froze every muscle in her body. "Ah... dammit..."

"... We got anything heavy to replace her foot on the plate?" Ky'itae asked, backing up slightly.

"Sorry, I don't have anything heavy enough," Saeola replied in a low whisper, as if speaking loudly would set off the trap.

Serosa'ruth scanned the ceiling and walls, finally finding the armed weapon connected to the pressure plate. "Saeola, back up when I give you the signal, then jump backward as fast and far as you can."

Saeola nodded and braced herself, every muscle in her body tightening and ready to spring.

The druid fell a few paces back, then swung his arm down, "NOW!"

She lunged, bolting to the side as fast as her body allowed.

A large pendulum blade sped towards the ground, slamming into the stone just as the ranger's feet cleared the area. Serosa'ruth tapped it with his foot. "Hm. Pure iron. Guess they really wanted to get the point across, ne?"

"...I really hope that wasn't a bad pun," Saeola groaned, pressed up against the wall. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and peeled herself from it. Rubbing her forehead, which she had accidentally smacked against the wall.

"This is an axe-like weapon, not a sword-like device, so it doesn't have a 'point' so much as a bladed edge." Serosa'ruth corrected.

Saeola rubbed the back of her neck, trying to work out a kink that had appeared. It cracked loudly. "Oh, pardon me..." She muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes with a grin.

"Okay, Mr. Anal-Retentive, let's go." Ky'itae grabbed the collar of the druid's cloak and dragged him along the path. Serosa'ruth watched the elf fighter's feet and froze.

"...Ky'itae?" He twitched.

"What?"

"Your foot's on another pressure plate..."

"WHAT!"

Saeola's eyebrow twitched.

Serosa'ruth removed Ky'itae's hands from his cloak and walked on. "Just kidding."

Saeola practically fell over. "Don't _DO_ that!" A pouch containing something hard collided with the back of Serosa'ruth's head. Before his head could completely lurch forward, Ky'itae added to the blow by elbowing the male in the ribs, sending him tumbling over.

"DAMMIT, SERO!"

The wall ahead rumbled. Serosa'ruth looked down at the loose stone slab his knee had just pressed in and released. "Aw shit."

Saeola's eyebrow twitched again. "Well, I believe this is part where we run." She glared at the male elf, a glare that promised death if they got out of here alive.

The wall began to slide towards them, as did a new wall behind them, which blocked off their exit back through the entrance.

"Dammit! We've gotta get out of here!" Saeola cried. And that was only possible by continuing forward right? There _had_ to be another way out...

Serosa'ruth clambered to his feet, his fingers and lips rapidly moving as he quickly cast a spell, tossing his hands in the direction of the women and then himself. A soft, gray aura soon emitted around each adventurer.

"Walk through the wall," he said, pointing at the moving stone in front of them. The women looked at him incredulously.

"Are you insane!" Ky'itae asked, slackjawed.

"Just do it, dammit!" Serosa'ruth huffed, dashing forwards towards -- and into -- the rock.

It was an odd feeling. It felt hot and cold at the same time. And while Saeola really didn't trust this..."If I die... then the Hells won't even _compare_ to what I'll do to you in the afterlife!" She shouted, waving a fist threateningly before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, and running in after him.

Ky'itae followed the others through the thick wall, feeling the same odd sensations and the strangeness of... melding into the rock. The path seemed to last less than a moment and at the same time, forever. However much time had passed, the elven fighter found herself around a bend from the moving rock slab, and out of the trap. Serosa'ruth leaned against a wall while Saeola attempted the same, only to fall into the rock and reemerge with a yelp.

Now she clung to the floor like it was her only anchor. "Mind warning me next time?" She grumbled, glaring up at Serosa'ruth. The glare quickly faded and she frowned. "Hey, you okay? You don't look so good..."

"...I just remembered I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning."

She made a face. "Is _that_ all? Jeez..."

The male's stomach rumbled loudly to attest his proclamation. He sighed, patting his empty stomach. "What I wouldn't do for some roth meat right now..."

She sighed, sitting on the floor cross-legged now. "Hold on... " She began to dig within her pack and after a moments search, pulled out some bead wrapped in cloth. "Eh… This is all I have. Will it do?"

"Just give me a small piece, it'll be more than enough."

Saeola nodded and broke the bread in half, giving him one piece and placing the other piece back into her bag. Now she could only hope they didn't get stuck in this place for more than one day. She didn't have enough supplies for that and given the outside, there would be no hope in finding food, either.

Serosa'ruth ripped his piece in half and gave the other to Ky'itae. "Here."

"I'm not hungry." The moon elf shrugged.

"Then save it for later." the druid warrior insisted. Ky'itae sighed and took the bread, nibbling on the end a bit. "So, what now?"

Saeola sighed and shrugged helplessly. "Beats me. I think the most obvious thing to do is just keep walking." She pointed to the path ahead, mostly hidden in darkness. "Actually, it's the only thing we can do, seeing as how this is the only way to go now."

"True enough... or so it might seem." Serosa'ruth walked along the rock wall, tapping various sections and running his fingers along the edges, "Keep your eyes peeled. I can feel a small shift in the air nearby, and it's not coming from the path ahead. There's probably a hidden doorway around here."

Saeola stood from her spot on the floor and dusted herself off. After fixing her quiver on her shoulder to a more comfortable spot, she turned her green-brown eyes to Serosa'ruth. "So we're looking for a door, then." Saeola moved to the other wall and also traced slender fingers along the rough surface, feeling for this doorway. "Ah, are you certain?"

"Not all doors are obvious. Not all are even true doors, but simple openings once activated. Trust me. I've had my share of experience in wizardly magic and cave tracking." He assured the ranger.

"Yeah, I'm sure..." Saeola muttered, too concentrated on finding this opening to really reply. She continued along the wall, feeling the surface, pressing on the stones it was made of. She wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for exactly. Was something suppose to open or-- Her hand suddenly went through the wall as if it wasn't even there and she gave a startled yelp of surprise, taking several steps backwards. "Er... I think I found it?"

The two elves came over, inspecting closely. Serosa'ruth's eyes narrowed in what seemed to be the glint of a smile. He gave a pat on Saeola's shoulders. "Nice work, ranger." He complimented, cautiously stepping through the invisible pathway.

Saeola smirked after him, although secretly enjoyed the praise, and stepped in after him. _Here's hoping this isn't a trap_, She thought as she emerged on the other side.

Ky'itae followed the two nature guardians and found herself in a narrow, dimly lit passageway. Serosa'ruth crouched down, inspecting the ground. "This passage looks like it gets fairly frequent use." His eyes had since shifted back into the light spectrum, returning to their usual blue as he scanned the lit walls. "Those flames appear to be magical, too. Probably to save on wood for lighting this area."

Saeola examined the area curiously, blinking a bit at the sudden light, though dim. There really wasn't much to examine, she discovered after a brief moment, but she found the magical flames interesting. "Hm... So, I guess we follow this?"

"With caution, yes." Ky'itae nodded, turning around to check the entrance. "It's still open, so we might be able to exit this way if the need arises. I'll hold up the rear." The young elven woman unsheathed her bastard sword and kept her attention behind the small party.

"Alrighty," Saeola said, unsheathing her short sword just in case. She figured if they met anything nasty in this narrow corridor, a sword would be more handy than her arrows.

Serosa'ruth kept both his enchanted blades unsheathed, one glowing white, the other red in the dim lighting. His body remained tensed, as if ready to spring into action at a second's notice. The trio came to a fork in the path, at which the leader paused to contemplate their choices.

Saeola followed Serosa'ruth silently, green-brown eyes keeping a sharp look out for anything that may decide to jump out at them. She paused when Serosa'ruth did and she watched his back calmly, curiously. There was something she couldn't place about him... something almost foreboding. But she was probably imagining it. He was such a nice guy. Her eyes then moved away from him to curiously examine their possible paths.

Serosa'ruth turned his head around and nodded at Ky'itae, who nodded back. The elven woman squeezed passed nature's two servants and entered the left passageway. "I'll be right back."

"She's checking briefly for any traps or dead-ends." Serosa'ruth explained to Saeola. "She's gotten a fair amount of cave experience thanks to our orc-hunting, and we usually take turns waiting at a fork while the other inspects one cave for a short while. Usually, if no clear landmark or source of wind can be found within a hundred yards, maybe two, it's a dead end."

Saeola offered him a kind smile, eyes still staring down the path Ky'itae had disappeared down. "Ah, I see. That's pretty impressive. You two are a great team."

"I'd like to think so. We've only been traveling together for about... a year now? We've mostly stayed near the mountains and forests within a hundred miles of Triboar, trying to help clear out the recent orc infestation."

"Only a year and already you can read each other that well? I guess 'impressive' isn't a strong enough word after all. I admire it, though. I've never been one to work well with others."

"Well, I'm sure we haven't gotten each other figured out perfectly at all yet," Serosa'ruth chuckled, "especially since we elves tend to be slow to earn and give total trust to another. I think a big part of it is thanks to the fact we've both had fairly extensive military training before we went adventuring."

"But still... I spent time with a fellow ranger once when I was still learning the paths. Two, three years together and never were we able to read each other that well." She huffed suddenly at the memory and her face twisted into a disgusted look. "He was such a jerk. I'm glad he finally wandered away."

Serosa'ruth chuckled slightly, then paused, "Forgive me if this query seems too personal... You can ignore it if you wish, but... You are a wild half-elf, right? No doubt your kind are very rare, if not almost nonexistent. Perhaps you feel alone and are hard pressed to find a synch with others due to this feeling of alienation from most anyone you meet?"

She opened her mouth to snap at him for being nosy, but stopped when she realized he was right. Well, that was part of the reason, anyway. The other was that many people had told her to her face that she was hard to get along with sometimes. Saeola chuckled lightly and shrugged at him helplessly. "I guess you hit the nail on the head with this one."

Serosa'ruth nodded his head slightly, "As I said, I apologize if I seemed rude, but a word of advice from someone who knows what he's talking about: You're not the only one who feels that way. It can be difficult, but if you search hard enough, you can find those who will accept you for you, regardless of your heritage."

"Hm..." She muttered and gave him an odd look. There was a pause before she spoke up again. "You say you understand... So how about you? Where do you reside from and... What are you, exactly, to understand?"

The elven male's green eyebrow's raised as if contemplating a response, when Ky'itae reemerged from the path.

"There's a door at the end of the hall," she noted, "Probably magically warded. Think you guys can try to disarm, dispel, and unlock it?"

"I can try to dispel it, but I doubt I could unlock all of its magics." Serosa'ruth admitted, "especially if it's strongly warded. Well, let's take a look, shall we? Lead on, Ky."

Saeola frowned at the interruption, but let the issue go. She would have another chance to ask him, she hoped. Her sword, which had been hung loosely at her side, was brought up to a more offensive position. "Right. Lead the way."

The moon elf led the others down the passageway, directing them where to step over traps and avoid other triggers. Soon, the trio came to a stone door at the end. Serosa'ruth inspected the passage carefully, rubbing his covered chin.

"Hmm... yes... I can sense a few powerful wards on this. I can dispel some of them, I think. The others... Well, we'll figure that out later." He chanted lowly, his gloved fingers weaving the patterns of a spell. A low purple light exploded outwards from the center of the door; much of the magical aura faded with it.

"Well, now how do we take care of the other wards? Best to be rid of them before attempting to disarm the other traps." Ky'itae reminded.

Saeola had watched silently, always fascinated by magic. She knew only a few spells herself, but her magic was not her strong point. She then shrugged helplessly at Ky'itae's comment. "I may be able to disarm the other traps, but I don't think I can do much to get rid of the wards."

Ky'itae rubbed her bare neck in thought. "You know... most of these kind of wards are one-time things before the owner has to recast them... Anyone got a spare piece of armor or something heavy enough to smack the door hard?"

"I might have something..." Saeola pondered. She abruptly sat down cross-legged and dug through her pack once again. After a moment's search, she pulled out what appeared to be a cheap piece of armor that one would place on the arm. "...Wow, I've just got everything in this pack, don't I? I don't even remember this thing... But I don't think it's heavy enough."

Ky'itae weighed the gauntlet in her hand, "Hm. Well, it's metal, if old and somewhat weak, but it should do. Back away, everyone." Serosa'ruth, already keen on her intentions, quickly moved away from the door, pulling Saeola back with him. She managed to grab her pack before Serosa'ruth had pulled her away, muttering about it being full of junk as she hastily closed it and turned her attention to Ky'itae.

Ky'itae backed up a bit herself, then stretched her arm back, flinging the old gauntlet forward with all her might. She ducked right before the armor hit the door, and wisely so. The moment of impact sent and electric surge through the door, one that sizzled through the air just above Ky'itae's head. A few minor explosions went off near the door, then all was quiet.

"Well, if anyone's home, they certainly know we're here now if they didn't before. Let's get moving." Serosa'ruth urged.

Saeola winced at the loud explosions and backed away more. When all was quiet she sighed softly and then chuckled at Serosa'ruth's comment. "Yeah... and I doubt they'll be happy about us breaking in." She steadied her sword before taking the lead, stepping gingerly through the door and scanning the area carefully.


	4. Chapter 4

****

Chapter 4

Serosa'ruth pulled out the triggers for the mechanical trap as Saeola stepped through, rendering them harmless. He followed the half-elf into a chamber lined with bookshelves, cabinets, and various spell components. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he noticed tables supporting scattered body parts of various creatures, from orc to giant to panther to human.

"This must be the necromancer's lair." He growled in a low whisper, scanning the area for any more traps or foes.

Her face showed disgust as she scanned the room. "Yeah... What else would it be?" Saeola hissed, voicing her disgust to match her face. She stepped over a twitching arm before poking it carefully with her sword tip.

Ky'itae jerked her head to the left, "Did you--?"

"Yes. Have your arms ready," Serosa'ruth growled, his two blades poised to attack. From around the corner trudged an awkwardly deformed flesh golem, its parts apparently made from the skin of demons. It stopped, staring at the trio, waiting. A moment later, a pale, blonde-haired elven man walked out in front on the construct, his black and gray robes flowing around him. He stopped and turned to the adventurers, a bored look upon his face.

"So, it seems another band of would-be heroes has come to interrupt my projects once again. Tell me: why can't you damn quest-hunters leave a mage to his work in peace?"

Saeola jumped, obviously startled and so interested in poking at the arm that she hadn't noticed the man until he had spoke. She whirled around quickly and held her sword at ready, mentally kicking herself for being caught off guard. "Because your work is sick!" She snapped, anger obviously getting the better of her.

The necromancer rolled his eyes, "Oh please, spare me your tree-hugging speeches, ranger. It's not like I killed these creatures being used. They were already dead when I found them. It's not my fault they weren't properly equipped to handle to passage traps and wards... Or my creations."

The half-elf's eyes narrowed dangerously and she held her blade up more, as if to dare him to attack. But she had no more words. She would say something stupid for sure, blinded by anger as she was. So she merely waited, itching for the perfect time to attack.

The death-dealing mage shrugged, indifferent. "I'll release you all back into the woods, if you promise to leave me be. I'm really tired of the whole dealing-with-intruders ordeal. It runs down my golem supply quite quickly, and they take so long to repair and create."

"You're really pissing me off..." Saeola growled lowly, tightening her grip on her sword's hilt.

The necromancer shrugged, "Quite frankly, I don't give a damn if I'm angering you. I made you quite a gracious offer, so you can take it or leave it. Be warned, though... At the first hostile action, my demon skin golem here will act in my defense. He's not been tested in combat, so I don't know exactly how much damage he can do. Or, rather, I don't know his maximum strength. I'm sure it's rather deadly, though."

Saeola clenched her teeth together in frustration and her hands tightened into fists at her sides. She wanted to attack regardless and had she been alone, she probably would have. While she had no doubt her companions could hold themselves fine if there was a battle, she would feel to guilty if they got hurt in something she had started. But what now? She had to stop this sicko --somehow.

Serosa'ruth narrowed his eyes at the mage, "Regardless of whether you're using these golems to attack others or not, you still took parts from unwilling corpses, denying them the natural course of the earth. It's an abomination to all that I stand for. You must stop."

"I will do as I please, druid," the necromancer replied icily, turning around with a dismissive wave of his hand, "and you can do what you will, but be prepared for the consequences of it." He walked past the massive demon skin golem and back to his desks filled with body parts, parchments, and various magical components.

Finally fed up, Saeola drew an arrow back on her bow, aiming it at the necromancer. "We'll see," She growled and let the arrow fly.

The arrow bounced off the necromancer and rebounded back at its shooter. Ky'itae, acting swiftly, unsheathed her bastard sword and deflected the arrow in one smooth motion. At the hostile action aimed at its master, the fiendish golem roared loudly and charged towards the trio. Serosa'ruth, his twin longswords already drawn, took on a defensive stance, ready to move into action at a millisecond's notice.

Saeola quickly pulled another arrow free and also too a defensive stand, firing the arrow at the charging beast.

That arrow too bounced off, though it didn't rebound back at its origin.

"It's got magical protection! Stop using arrows, they'll only bounce off!" Ky'itae cried as she ducked from the monster's larger arm.

Saeola muttered a curse underneath her breath and leapt backwards, unfortunately losing her bow as she did so to avoid a swing. The bow was sadly crushed underneath the golem's foot. She quickly drew her sword once her feet touched the ground. If her arrows didn't work, then her sword would.

Ky'itae swung her blade at the golem, but it left no marks. She cursed under her breath while Serosa'ruth leapt forward, stabbing his red-glowing blade into the thing's thigh. It ripped through, causing the construct to screech in pain. The concealed elf's eyes twinkled in a smile.

"Imagine that. Looks like this blade works on demonflesh golems as well as true demons and devils. Handy, that."

The necromancer, realizing for once there was a true threat to his creations, snarled and whirled around, quickly weaving his fingers and lips in an incantation.

"Oh no you don't!" She snapped, bolting toward him with surprising speed. She could at least distract him, right? She swung her blade at him swiftly once she was in range, aiming to hit him but not expecting to. Unsurprisingly, the blade hit nothing but air, a good two feet away from the mage, who smirked.

"Never enter a fight with a wizard, ranger," he gloated, "unless you're well prepared beforehand."

"And you shouldn't underestimate me!" She snarled, crouching down and kicking his feet out from underneath him.

Laughing, the Necromancer suddenly appeared behind Saeola, green blasts of magical energy slamming into her back. "Why is it you nature folk always seems to miss displacement spells?"

She cried out in pain as the energy blasts slammed hard into her back, throwing her forward. She rolled a ways before rolling onto her feet in a crouched position, sword tightly clutched in her hands as she winced. _Damn._ No, she had no experience fighting wizards. Her field of experience wasn't that big yet. She hadn't been traveling out like this for very long.

"Use this!" Serosa'ruth tossed his glowing-white sword to the ranger while simultaneously slicing through the golem with his other blade.

Saeola snatched the sword with her free hand from the air with a "Thanks!" and swung it hard upwards at the necromancer.

The wizard hissed in pain as the enchanted blade struck his shoulder, sending a short burst of white glowing energy out upon impact.

"That divine damage thing comes in handy, doesn't it?" Ky'itae asked, deftly ducking from the golem's claws again. Serosa'ruth chuckled, half-pulling, half-leaping up the monster's back to get in close to its head.

Saeola agreed with Ky'itae silently, taking several more quick swings at the evil wizard with the enchanted blade, though still tightly clutching her own. She managed to get him in the leg and across the forearm. _If this guy goes down, the monsters die, right? Or at least become less powerful._

A loud rumbling, bestial roar shook the cavern walls. Serosa'ruth managed to yank his blade out from the golem's skull and leap away, letting the demonflesh monster to fall forward, landing harshly on the ground with a satisfying **THUNK** that shook the cave once more. He turned around, his black cape billowing behind him from the movement. The elf twirled his longsword in his hand once before closing in on the wizard with Ky'itae. "Still not willing to relent, necromancer?"

Saeola backed away to join her two companions, both blades held at the ready. She smirked at him. "Might be a good idea."

Licking a small amount of blood away from his lips, the necromancer snorted, muttering, "Fucking tree-huggers." before vanishing. Ky'itae growled in frustration, but Serosa'ruth placed a calming gloved hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go. Right now, let's just look for a way out."

Saeola also made a soft noise in annoyance before sheathing her own blade, turning and tossing the other back to Serosa'ruth. He deftly caught it and sheathed it in one smooth motion. "Thanks for that. Probably would have lost my head without it," She chucked dryly, clearly peeved about the necromancer's comment and escape.

The covered elven male clapped a hand on her shoulder as well, "Don't worry about it. We'll speak of it more once we're out of his territory. I'm sure he was serious when he said he wished to be left alone, but I also wouldn't doubt he left the way out trapped and guarded. So, let's remain alert while we go out, hm? This way, I can feel a change in the air current." Serosa'ruth ushered the two women onward.

- - -

The sharp edge of her blade sliced through three skeletons at once and she didn't even bother with the fourth one, jumping over it and yanking off its head in the process. Saeola landed with ease in a crouched position on the other side before hurriedly continuing her run toward the exit. She could just see it ahead.

Ky'itae helped the young half-elf out by pulling her up through the sloping entranceway. Serosa'ruth quickly slid the stone door back into place, taking a moment to breathe before continuing. Once the trio were a few hundred yards from the lair, the druid spoke, "Well, that's over for now. However... I'm going to look into seeing if there's a local druid grove nearby. I'll inform them of the necromancer if there is one. They should be able to take care of the situation. You two head to the nearest town." He handed Ky'itae a map and pointed to a location on it, "This is the general area I'd guess we're in, so the nearest town should be right around here."

Saeola stretched her arms over her head before bringing them behind her back with a shrug at Ky'itae. "I'm not familiar with this area, so lead the way."

Ky'itae grinned sheepishly, "Well, neither am I, but we have a map, ne? And both elves and rangers are very good trackers... We'll be fine. See you later, Serosa'ruth." She waved at her companion, who nodded and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

Saeola too waved him off and headed away with Ky'itae. Her face showed her thinking about something seriously before she finally turned to look at the fellow female. "Does he always hide himself in those clothes? Serosa'ruth, I mean."

Ky'itae tilted her head in thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

Saeola made a face and scratched the back of her head. "Huh. Weird. I wonder why..."

"Serosa'ruth is a weird character, so why not? I mean, think about it: He's a druid that fights with two longswords. That's pretty odd in and of itself. Though I guess it makes sense if you understand he was a warrior long before he became a druid..." The young elf shook her head at the thought, brushing a few of her brown locks away from her face.

Saeola dropped her hand and shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, but who honestly knows? I guess... It really isn't any of my business to question it, either." But that didn't really help her curiosity. It was a bad trait she had, always being curious about people. She always had to tell herself curiosity killed the cat and move on, but in this case it was harder to do for some reason.

"So..." Ky'itae looked at the skies and trees above after a moment of awkward silence, "What brought you to Triboar? Were you just visiting, or were you preparing to go all-out adventuring?"

Saeola blinked before she grinned sheepishly. "Curiosity." Her eyes scanned the surroundings with half interest as she bent her arms back behind her head. "I was just curious about what's beyond my forest or the few acres around it. No real purpose. And as you clearly saw, I'm still very new and inexperienced at this. Heh... I embarrass myself in front of two experienced adventurers, of all people. Go figure."

"Hon, I wouldn't exactly call Serosa'ruth and myself very experienced in adventuring in and of itself. We've only done it for about a year ourselves. Though, we both do have a fairly advanced military background, which helps, I suppose. Still, I guess we could help your out in your own ventures, if you wish. You're welcome to join us for the long run, as long as Sero says it's okay, and I doubt he'll object." The moon elf smiled warmly at the wild half-elf, pushing a few branches aside to step out of the woods and onto a dirt path.

Saeola returned the smile and followed, managing to duck under the branch before it was released. She joined Ky'itae on the path. "I'd like that very much, as long as you think I won't be a burden or anything."

"I'm sure you won't be any more of burden than Sero or myself, Saeola," the elf maiden chuckled, "We all have our talents and our screw-ups. And I'm sure your archery skills will come in handy... once we get that bow of yours replaced. C'mon, I can see a town up ahead. I'm sure they'll at least have something basic." Ky'itae urged the ranger on with her, and the duo quickly strode into the small settlement.

- - -

The two women browsed the shop, finding little of true interest aside from restocking on their food supplies. Eventually, Ky'itae found a skilled half-orc smith. The gray, hairy and burly hybrid listened to Saeola as the ranger requested a new longbow, and a sharper blade. Her short sword had already dulled and looked ready to snap in two. He nodded, rubbing his small beard in thought.

"I can make you a bow made out of oak, and… Hm, well… if you're more one to fight with finesse, I can forge you a pretty strong rapier. They're more for slashing and minor piercings than cleaving, but they're great if you fight with speed, not muscle. I can even add a few minor enchantments to the blade to make it sharper and stronger than it naturally could achieve. And I could enchant the bow to be more durable and shoot farther and faster, but the whole lot will cost you about a thousand silver if I do."

Saeola rubbed her chin in thought, weighing her bag of coins, unsure if she had enough money.

"I can lend you some money." Ky'itae offered. Saeola shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'd really rather not spend your money."

"You know," the half-orc inspected Saeola's short sword, "This would actually be pretty good to melt down and make into some simple bullets. If you sell this to me, I'll knock down the price of your commission to seven hundred silver."

"I'm still not sure if I can afford that…" the ranger sighed.

"Then I'll pitch in the rest, whether you like it or not." Ky'itae grinned, turning to the smith. "When can you finish making the bow and blade?"

"Stop by tomorrow around midday, and they should be ready. All right?" He raised a thick, dark blue eyebrow at Saeola.

"All right, that sounds good." The ranger handed him a bag of a few hundred silver coins. "That's in advance."

"Thank you, ladies." The half-orc bowed his head, turning back into his shop. "See you tomorrow."

The two women waved and went back to searching through the market. Saeola looked down at her hands, furrowing her narrow, yet semi-thick, black eyebrows.

"Think I have enough money to buy some leather gloves? It would probably make archery a bit more comfortable for me, not to mention the little extra protection."

"I'm sure we can find some decent ones that don't cost much." Ky'itae assured, reaching up to pat the half-elf on her shoulder.

- - -

True enough, they managed to find a good pair of gloves for Saeola, who slipped them on the minute she finished purchasing them. Afterward, they paid for a room in the only tavern in town, the Grinning Goblin Inn. Ky'itae ordered three tankards of ale as the two women sat down.

"Serosa'ruth always meets me at taverns when we split up like this." The moon elf explained to Saeola, "And he always seems to know exactly which inn to find me… It's so odd. Well, this is the only tavern around, so that only helps, eh?" Ky'itae grinned, taking an ale from the barmaid.

Saeola took another glass, sipping the alcohol slowly as the barmaid set the third one down at the table. The ranger looked down at her drink, wrinkling her nose in mild disgust.

"Ugh. Really watered it down, didn't they?" She asked, an eyebrow arched. Ky'itae shrugged, gulping her own ale.

"Yeah, but it's a drink, and I don't feel like having pure water right now." The elven fighter looked up as she raised her glass again, noticing her druid friend walk into the building. "Oh! Hey! Sero! Over here!" She waved the male elf over. Serosa'ruth walked over and seated himself between the two woman, pulling his ale over. He didn't drink it, nor make a move to remove the cloth on his face so that he could.

"So, you ladies get a room or two?" He asked.

"Yeah, just one. We spent a lot of money on supplies and new weapons for Saeola." Ky'itae explained, finishing her drink. "Hey! Barkeep! Can I have another round? A bit more 'zing' in it would be nice too, ya know."

The stick-like human grumbled from behind his counter, preparing another drink. Serosa'ruth rubbed his hooded neck.

"You really shouldn't drink too much, Ky…"

"Pssh. As Saeola said before you entered, it's all watered down." His friend retorted.

"It's true." Saeola confirmed with a nod. Serosa'ruth rolled his azure eyes.

"Whatever…" He swirled his tankard around slightly, causing the liquid inside to stir. "Anyway, I managed to find a druid grove some miles away from where we left. They're taking care of the matter."

"Well, that's good to know." Saeola gulped down more of the mediocre alcohol, "That guy really pissed me off…"

"Well, now that the matter is settled," Serosa'ruth tapped the table to gain the ranger's attention before she got herself into a temper, "What do you plan to do, Saeola?"

"Well… Ky'itae and I were talking about it before…" The half-elf bit her lip, "…Would it…. Would it be okay if I came along with you guys? I really have no experience at real adventuring, and I'll probably fare better with companions than on my own, right? I've nowhere else to go, and… well… You two seem like pleasant company." She smiled slightly, "Though I'm not sure if you'll be able to put up with me."

The druid laughed, clapping a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Saeola, I only hope you can put up with our own antics. Welcome aboard, my friend." He used his other arm to shake her hand.

She returned the gesture, grinning, "Glad to be along."


	5. Chapter 5

****

Chapter 5

Ky'itae huffed as she grabbed onto the rock wall, "How long have we been climbing this damn mountain now?" She grumbled. The late afternoon sun blazed down upon them from above.

Serosa'ruth, showing no signs of fatigue, answered simply, "Since sunrise."

"Since sunrise _yesterday_ it feels like," Saeola grumbled from beside Ky'itae. She paused for a moment to wipe sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and catch her breath. "Are we at least close to the top yet?"

"Girls, we're climbing the Nether Mountains. Reaching the top will take days." Serosa'ruth, his hood covering most of his face, turned his head back to glance at his companions.

"Right... and... WHY are we doing this again?" Saeola huffed. Two months had passed since she joined the two elves in their adventuring, yet this was the first real quest they'd had outside of minor bandit hunting. The ranger somewhat regretted this… mountain hiking in this weather was _not_ her idea of fun.

"Because word was there's a base for the People of the Black Blood hidden in these mountains. Saeola, you, of all people, I would think, would love to stop worshippers of Malar in their schemes, especially the lycanthrope ones." Her druid friend reminded.

Saeola sighed heavily and muttered as she began to continue her climb up. "Oh, right... I think the sun has killed off all my brain cells, so I forgot."

"Which is why we're going to try the cave entrance here instead of more pointless climbing out here." Serosa'ruth stopped and wove his fingers about in a spell. A piece of the rock wall in front of them moved aside, revealing the entrance to a cavern. Ky'itae's jaw dropped.

"But you said we'd have to hike for hours to get to--"

"--The top, yes." Serosa'ruth answered for her, "But I never said we were actually _going to_ the top, now, did I?"

Saeola's green eye twitched and she lowered herself back down a bit to view the newly made cave. She gave Serosa'ruth a flat look. "It's a loooooooooong way down, buddy."

"And I'm also the best cave navigator. Good luck in there without me." His blue eyes twinkling in amusement, the druid entered first, away from the cliff should the women decide to push him off anyway.

Saeola only muttered something in reply and entered the cave after him, wobbling a bit on her feet to try and get use to level ground again.

Serosa'ruth and Ky'itae quickly tuned in their Darkvision ability, their eyes glowing red.

"We'd best tread carefully. We won't be the first to attempt to destroy the Malar-worshiper base, but hopefully we'll be the first to actually return." The male elf warned, cautiously scanning the area.

Saeola switched to her Darkvision as well and frowned slightly as she looked around. "Great. Only my second real mission with you guys and already it's a suicide one. All right, be on my toes then. Got it."

"First rule of adventuring, Saeola: Every mission is a suicide mission." Ky'itae reminded, keeping close to the wall and her ears alert.

"Smell anything odd, Ky?" Serosa'ruth asked. The moon elf took a few whiffs of the air, then slowly shook her head.

"Nope, nothing unusual... For a cave, at least. Ugh. It's really musty down here."

Saeola moved further into the cave and smirked at the statement, but said nothing. One hand came to the wall and she paused. "Heh, if its a good nose you wanted I could've brought Irek... not that I doubt your sense, Ky'itae." Irek was Saeola's wolf companion, and the ranger could have the wolf magically summoned to her side with an enchanted trinket she always wore around her neck, tucked into her tunic.

The moon elf grinned, her canines seemingly slightly longer than normal, "Oh, don't worry about it. Save him for a battle." She paused, taking another whiff in the air, "Hold on... something's... hmm... rusty. There's metal nearby... probably..." She inhaled again, "... prison cells, by the stink attached to it, I'd wager." Ky'itae wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Saeola blinked. "Prisoner cells? The fate of the other adventurers, I gather. Well, shall we start that way, then?"

Serosa'ruth nodded, "There will probably be at least a guard or two, so let's be wary. Lead on, Ky." He moved aside to let Ky'itae pass him, then followed her down the passage. Saeola followed right after him, keeping her sense sharp and ready for anything.

Ky'itae pressed herself up against the wall. "Guard. Human. With a panther of Malar. Fifty feet and closing." she hissed.

"Saeola, think you can get them with your arrows?" Serosa'ruth asked in a hushed voice.

She nodded silently and removed her bow from its place on her back and took an arrow from the quiver. She pulled it back on the string and aimed once she had the guard in her sight. She let the arrow fly.

The guard let out a cry that quickly turned into a gurgle. He crumbled, and his panther snarled, leaping towards the adventurers. Serosa'ruth quickly withdrew his blades, meeting the panther head-on. "You guys head on. I'll take care of this beast." The elven male growled. Ky'itae motioned for Saeola to follow her, and the two woman went on. The Malar panther's yelps of pain assured them that Serosa'ruth had no problem fighting it himself.

As they continued down the path, the way began to widen slightly, iron bar doors lining the walls.

"Looks like I was right about the prison cells..." Ky'itae murmured.

"And I was right about the fate of the other adventures," Saeola replied, noticing dried crimson on the peeling rusty bars. _Wonder there's anyone alive in here? _She thought curiously, peeking in through the bars cautiously.

Rustling noises from a nearby cell caught the women's attentions. A medium-sized humanoid figure swung into view, upside down with its hands on the prison bars.

"Well, well. Paint me red an' call me an overgrown imp!" A young man's voice exclaimed in a thick Cockney accent, "Izzat a wild 'alf-elf I see? Or is da blood jus' rushin' to me 'ead? Coulda sworn I was da only one in existence, dese days. Oi! OI! Ladies! Mind 'elping a bloke out jus' a bit?"

Saeola stopped in surprise at the odd voice and turned sharply to the cell behind her. She blinked at the half-elf man and walked over, peering through the bars with her hands on her hips. "That's a possibility." She glanced over her shoulder at Ky'itae. "Think you can break it? I'm not sure I can with the weapons I have."

"Eh..." The man hesitated, "I... wouldn' try dat if I were you, dove. See, I've already tried... bugger door's magically sealed. If it weren't, I woulda picked that lock days ago. An'... dere's an antimagic field around dese cells, so I con't blast meself out, ya see?"

Ky'itae raised an eyebrow, "And just who are you?"

"Me, Fey woman?" A glimpse of near white broke the darkness for a moment as the man grinned. His pure black, spiky hair dangled below him, while his long, narrow, pointed goatee seemed to defy gravity and remained upright. The half-elf winked, saluting the women adventurers, "Faelar Thielin, professional thief an' amateur sorcerer atcha service. Wouldja believe I didn't end up 'ere due to my profession? Nay, was a bloody accident. Apparently, I stepped on da wrong rock at da wrong time on da wrong mountain. Damn concealed magic traps... Anyway... any 'elp would be great. If not, ya know... it's fine. Da view's quite nice from 'ere." Faelar cracked another upside-down grin.

Saeola arched an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms out over her chest. He was an odd one, all right. "I'm not sure if there's anything we can do in that case. But we can't just leave you here..."

"That 'uman bloke -- I'm assuming ya nailed 'im dove, by the gurgles I 'eard earlier -- was carrying a set 'o keys, methinks." The rogue stroked his goatee in thought, which in most situations would make him look rather serious and pensive. Yet his upside-down position and entire strange... aura... made it only look comical. "Dunno if 'e's still got 'em. Worth a look though, I'd guess?"

"I'd say," Saeola agreed and turned, walking back to where the guard had fallen. It didn't take her long to find the ring of keys on his waist and she took it, moving back to Faelar's cell. She held up the mass of keys. "Any clue as to which one? I have a bad feeling what would happen if I accidentally used the wrong one."

"I'd wager da one dat 'as a rune reading, 'door' on it, dove."

"And _I'd_ say there are about ten keys with that rune on it," She huffed. "Oh well. Hope I don't kill us." She counted the keys for a moment before choosing the sixth one and slipping it into the keyhole. She turned it with a loud noise and sighed softly, happy she had guessed correctly as the door creaked open.

"Excellent dove!" Faelar grinned, clapping his gloved hands, "Now... eh... could you... uh... unshackle me, maybe?" He gave another crooked grin.

"Hold yer horses," Saeola replied, moving carefully into the cell. After she was sure no traps would go off she moved over and kneeled beside Faelar, finding the key for the shackles and unlocking them.

The thief shot down towards the floor, but, surprisingly, managed the push himself against the ground and spring himself back onto his feet in less than a few seconds. Apparently, he was still completely outfitted in his own gear -- near-skin tight leather covered his entire torso and legs, while soft leather boots adorned his feet. Open-fingered gloves covered his hands, and he had two blades strapped to his belt -- a short sword and a dagger. Three ring earrings and one spikelike earring decorated each pointed ear, and the rogue looked ready to cause mischief any moment.

Smiling widely, he clapped a hand against Saeola's back, perhaps a bit harder than he meant to. "Aye! Knew ye could do it, dove! Eh... Whot's yer name, now, dove? An' you, Fey woman?" Faelar tapped his three ring earrings in one ear a few times in curiosity.

"Ky'itae of the moon elves. Pleasure." The fighter elf smirked, amused by the half-elf's antics.

The ranger coughed at the rather hard pat and moved away from him in annoyance, stepping out of the prison cell. "Saeola."

Faelar clapped another hand on her back, and his other on Ky'itae's. "Well, I thank ye very much, ladies. If ya want da favor returned--"

"Perhaps our new friend could help us?" Serosa'ruth approached the group, raising green eyebrows at the rogue, "Faelar, was it?"

"Aye. Damn. You elves got even betta ears dan us 'alf-elves... though dat makes sense, I suppose." Faelar tapped his earrings again in thought, "And you, strange bloke, would be...?"

"Serosa'ruth. Just Serosa'ruth."

"Ah. Using code names, are we?" Faelar grinned, "Fine wit me, Mr. 'Nature's Fury. Will ya like da assistance of a rogue on... eh... whatever it is yer doin'?"

"If we don't end up in a cell for it, then sure."

"Oh. Burn. I like dis bloke already."

Saeola studied Faelar flatly, bending her arms behind her head. "Hmph. You're a thief, right? Mustn't be a very good one if you got trapped here. Are you sure you won't just slow us down?"

Faelar shrugged nonchalantly, "If ya don't want me, carry on witout me. Though, I suspect you'd want dis back ferst, dove?" The wild half-elf male opened up his palm, revealing an oak carving of a wolf -- the magic trinket used to summon Irek.

Saeola's eyes nearly fell out of her head and her mouth opened in silent astonishment. "When did you... How did..." She stammered stupidly before her eyebrows furrowed angrily and she snatched the pendant back from his hand. She wanted to say something else, but she already felt stupid enough as it was, not to mention embarrassed. She had only known this guy for about two minutes and already hated his guts. _Why in the nine hells did I rescue him? I should've known he'd be annoying when he was hanging upside like that..._ She grumbled to herself.

Ky'itae eyed Faelar's fairly tight and seemingly pocketless clothes. "I'd like to know where he was keeping them." Faelar laughed.

"Uh-uh, Ky'itae," he mock-scolded, waving his index finger back and forth, "A thief neva reveals 'is secrets... and neither do sorcerers. Seeing as I'm both, dat rule applies to me twofold." He stretched, "So... are we going? Me fingers're itching to 'ave some fun." The rogue grinned widely, his fingertips grazing the hilts of his blades.

Saeola gave him another flat look. She wasn't thrilled about him coming, but bit her tongue and nodded. "Let's go, then," She agreed.

"Why don't we let our new... companion scout ahead for us, then?" Serosa'ruth suggested. Faelar made a brief bow at the druid.

"'As ya wish, boss. 'Tis done." With that, he utterly disappeared from sight, even with heat vision.

"Great, just what we need," Saeola muttered sarcastically. "For him to cast invisibility spells..."

"It does come in handy. And he obviously has quick fingers." Serosa'ruth pointed out, "I didn't even notice him casting his spell." The druid paused, then sniggered lowly, "Saeola, you keep Irek's pendant around your neck at all times, right?"

Saeola's eyes snapped toward Serosa'ruth. "Yes, always. Why...?" She trailed off and her hand came to touch her pendent.

"Doesn't the chain trail down rather... far?" Serosa'ruth's bright eyes twinkled. Ky'itae, realizing his point, laughed.

"All right, I'll be blunt for Sero: Saeola, isn't it kinda interesting Faelar was able to reach down into your cleavage and remove something without your notice? Quick fingers, indeed."

Saeola stared blankly at the two elves before her face flushed bright red. "Why that perverted son of a..." She'd kill him. As soon as he came back into her sight, she'd kill him.

"Son of a whot? Last time I checked, we share the same kinda lineage, dove." An amused voice whispered in her ear.

Saeola twitched and whirled around, taking a swing at him. Of course her fist only sliced thin air and she yelled in frustration. "Shut up!" She cried, shaking her fist at the general direction his voice had come from earlier. She knew he wasn't there. "I should lock you back up!"

"Good luck with dat, dove." Taunting, he now spoke behind her, "I already took da keys from yer belt."

Saeola's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and she stormed past the entire group to stand a little further ahead, arms crossed over her chest and tapping her foot furiously. "Can we go now or what?" She demanded.

"We could, if you 'adn't just triggered the plate dat seals us in dis area." Faelar reappeared, less than an inch away from her left cheek. "I thought rangers were good trackers? Caves not yer thin', dove?"

"Now when I'm being pestered!" Saeola snapped, quickly distancing herself from him. She had only made that mistake because he was distracting her. How dare he make her look like an idiot!

Faelar laughed, poking her cheek, instantly springing away when she tried to smack at him, "Aw, jus' buggin' wit ya, dove. We're fine. Dere's a few 'umans wit torches in da caves ahead, but fer da next 'undred yards, we're good an' clear…"

Saeola threw up her hands in defeat and turned sharply, storming ahead of the group, fuming.

Faelar rubbed his chin, "Though dere is one trap dat's quite easy to--"

"AUGH!"

"-Avoid. 'Ow's dat net feel, dove?"

Saeola found herself in a rather uncomfortable position within the net, shaking with anger. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She screeched at Faelar, wishing she could reach her bow and arrows.

"An' 'ow're you gonna do dat witout dis?" He held up her sheathed rapier, "or dese?" He lifted up his other arm, holding her quiver.

"ARRRRGGGHHH!" Was Saeola's only reply.

Faelar's hand flicked, and in the next moment, the rope holding the net up ripped, sending Saeola crashing to the ground. "Yer welcome, dove."

Saeola muttered many, many swears under her breath as she crawled from the net, brushing herself off when she stood and holding out her hand to Faelar with a glare that could freeze fire. "Give them back. NOW."

"Already done, dove." Faelar continued slinking down the hallway, her belongings gone from his hands. The ranger looked down, seeing her blade and quiver strapped exactly where they should have been.

"Hm... Things won't be dull with him around, will they?" Serosa'ruth asked with a chuckle, "Let's go."

"Yeah, but he's _gone_ when we're finished here," Saeola muttered, hurrying after Serosa'ruth with one last cold glare at Faelar.

"Calm down, girl," Ky'itae chuckled, half nervously, patting the young woman on her back, "Perhaps if you weren't so serious most of the time, he wouldn't push your buttons so well?"

"Maybe if I threw him off a cliff he wouldn't push my buttons either," Saeola snapped.

"Perhaps you'd best not attempt that." Serosa'ruth chuckled, "I get the feeling he'd somehow make that backfire on you."

Saeola merely replied with a disgruntled snort. She was silent after that, merely content to fume. _I finally meet another wild half-elf and he's more annoying than a fly. Isn't that just my luck?_

Welp, that's all for the first update; more chapters will be up soon. Reviews are appreciated, as are constructive criticisms. Yeah, I realize this story might seem to move faster than the last one… But there's a lot more happening this time through, and SL and I don't usually have a lot of time together to write… so just keep that in mind. Hopefully, you've enjoyed it so far. I'll try to have more chapters fixed up and publish before I move next Friday (8/5/05)

--Holly-chan


	6. Chapter 6

****

Chapter 6

Faelar halted in front of them, motioning for the others to remain quiet, "Half-orc bloke, twenty-five feet south... eh... might be north in dese caves. Whoteva." He pointed ahead.

Saeola snapped back to reality and glanced up, blinking through her Darkvision to see. She tilted her head a bit. "I can get them with an arrow if needed," She offered.

"Wouldn't recommended it. There's more guards about fifty feet behind him." Serosa'ruth observed, his eyes glowing redder than anyone else's. "And it looks like they're humans... With torches for light. We can't stay in the shadows."

Saeola frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Then we'll have to be exposed and fend them all off. There's gotta be a way around them."

"Just keep walkin'... quietly." Faelar stepped out of their cover and continued onward. When the others gave him skeptical looks, he sighed and muttered, "Ya gonna 'ave to trust me, mates."

Saeola tried not to laugh. "Trust you?" She hissed. "Give me one reason why we should?"

"Because I just cast an invisibility sphere around you all, as well as a few protective enchantments to 'elp ward off wounds from weapons. Don't believe me, try to look at each other." With that, the wild half-elf thief melded with the shadows.

Saeola blinked and did so, only to find she couldn't see the other two elves. She glanced down at her own hands and found she could only barely see them. _When did he...? Damn._ She cautiously followed after the other wild half-elf.

Serosa'ruth shrugged, well accustomed to invisibility spells. He crept after the half-elves, followed closely by Ky'itae. Switching to the light spectrum, he took note that the human guards at the other end were permanently dispatched... throwing daggers, by the looks of it. As the half-orc turned to investigate, the druid quickly grabbed the Malar-worshipper's head and twisted it around, instantly snapping the creature's neck. He caught the slumped body and gently placed it on the ground, creeping onwards.

Saeola, meanwhile, crept up directly behind the other wild half-elf. "Do you know where we're going?" She whispered.

"No idea, dove. I was in da cell fer days, rememba? But seeing as da only other two exits in dis room are false entries dat lead into deadly traps, I would consider dis da only path to take." The rogue smirked, his brown eyes scanning the area ahead.

"Right. So if we get lost, ambushed or killed, I know who to blame," She muttered flatly.

"Exactly, dove." She felt a teasing pinch on her cheek, but the thief cloaked himself in the shadows before she could respond. Her eye twitched in annoyance and she rubbed her cheek (which felt a bit odd because she wasn't sure where her cheek _was_) before continuing after him.

"This all natural to you, Mr. Subterranean?" Ky'itae whispered to where she believed Serosa'ruth was. Her druid friend chuckled.

"I can't even count how high the number of times I've turned myself or had myself turned invisible." The elf male smiled, though no one could see it, "And, skillful as Saeola is, I can easily hear her... and you, as well. Though, I must admit, I can't hear our new friend at all. Quite impressive for someone his age. I wouldn't estimate his age any more than maybe nineteen. Possibly even eighteen."

"Neither would I, but I'm not sure how half-elves age." Ky'itae admitted, keeping her hand against the cavern wall. "Saeola doesn't seem too much older than Faelar, in any case."

Saeola placed one hand on the cavern wall as well, finding this whole experience odd. It felt like she wasn't here at all, yet she could feel the cold of the wall and the ground on her feet. _If I was better at magic…and a mage… I'd definitely learn this spell._

Serosa'ruth caught up to the younger adventurers, "Judging from what I've learned of Malar shrines," he whispered, "we should come across a large cavern soon that has five or six exits directly in front of us. One leads to the 'sacred chambers,' the others are death traps."

Saeola glanced over her shoulder in the direction of his voice out of habit, realizing too late that it had been a pointless gesture. "That sounds promising. Is there a way to tell which is which or do we have to flip a coin?"

"The answer's in the warning. Think about it: One leads to the chambers. The others lead to certain death."

"Ferst one on da left." Faelar stopped, peeking around the bend to see five stone doors on the other end of a large cavern. "Dere's a large owlbear in da middle... an'... Another Malar worshipper. Half-orc. Eh... mage by da looks of 'im. Not good. He can probably detect magical cloaking."

"So he'll expose us if we get to close," Saeola muttered more to herself than to her companions. "We should still be able to get by quickly, though, right?"

"Not a chance. Best chance to beat a mage is to surprise them and get the upper hand. And if he can detect us when we get close enough... well, we just lose our invisibility before we get that close and charge." The elven male grinned, even though he knew no one could see it.

"Sounds good to me. I'll wait until you blokes drop your spells, den I'll jump out from my cova." Three small daggers, barely thicker than needles, appeared in between the rogue's fingers.

Saeola shrugged, trusting their experience. "Okie-dokie." She took her bow in hand and notched an arrow, deciding that she could attack with her arrows as soon as their cover was dropped and just as the other two elves charged.

Serosa'ruth and Ky'itae lunged forward, each withdrawing their weapons. The hostile action instantly removed their invisibility spells, suddenly brining them into full view. Surprised, the mage managed to sputter, "Attack!" to his owlbear before fumbling through his sleeves to retrieve components for a spell. His bird-headed bear held up the two elves, blocking their blows quiet effectively.

Saeola quickly followed after them, re-aiming her arrow at the mage instead. However, she had aimed for his sleeve. He reached for a component and she successfully managed to land the arrow through his sleeve and anything inside, tearing the sleeve off.

Her invisibility too disapperated at the flying of her arrow, leaving her exposed to the wizard. The half-orc quickly changed the aim of his spell and shot a bolt of electricity at the young ranger. The half-elven woman cringed as a quick jolt of electricity stung her body for a moment, but otherwise was unharmed. Faelar leapt down, landing in front of the hybrid wizard.

"Now, it's rude to 'it a lady." The rogue grinned. "Someone should teach you some manners. The half-orc snorted.

"Oh? And how do you intend to do that?" he snarled.

"Doink." The wild half-elf male poked the mage, his fingertip glowing red upon impact. The half-orc's body gave a shudder as he let out a wheezy shriek and fell to the ground, dead. Ky'itae stabbed through the owlbear's throat while Serosa'ruth gaped at the rogue in disbelief.

"That's the strangest casting of 'Finger of Death' I've ever seen." he gawked. Faelar smiled widely, giving the cloaked elf a thumbs-up.

"I call dat particular casting technique, 'Poke of Doom.'"

Saeola blinked, a rather humorous blank expression on her face. She looked between the three as she lowered her bow and the other arrow on it she had been ready to fire. "...'Doink'?"

"Yup. 'Doink.'" The rogue confirmed with another grin, "I personally find it quite appropriate."

Saeola rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Ky'itae grinned, elbowing the rogue teasingly, "That's a humiliating way to die."

"Oh, I doubt you will get on me bad side. Least you 'ave a sense of 'umor." Faelar grinned. "Isn't dat righ', dove?"

Saeola rolled her eyes again, bow and arrow now placed away and arms crossed over her chest. "Shut up. And stop calling me that!"

"Whoteva you say, dove." Faelar sauntered over to the first door on the left, pushing it open with his foot. "All clear. Let's go, eh?"

Saeola growled at the nickname and followed without another word.

"It's not so bad... I could think of much worse nicknames." Serosa'ruth pointed out with a smile as he walked past Faelar and inspected the area.

Ky'itae elbowed him, "I wouldn't suggest it. She looks ready to maim something."

Saeola merely gave a miscellaneous rock a rather evil glare, deciding that it would be best to direct it at such an object it instead of her traveling partners.

Torches lined the passage walls, and in the distance, haunting chants sent echoes throughout the cave.

"We're gettin' close to something. Ceremony, maybe?" Faelar surmised.

Saeola instantly went back on guard when she heard his comment. She turned toward the light, the flames flickering in the depths of her eyes. She listened to the soft, monotone of the chanting voices bouncing of the cavern walls. "Must be," She replied, her voice suddenly low.

A large grumbling sound made the crew jump in startlement. Faelar rubbed his neck, grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry mates. Da first thin' I'm gonna do when I get outta 'ere is eat somethin'..." He rubbed his empty stomach briefly, then turned his attention back to the path ahead.

Saeola rolled her eyes, but bit her tongue. _Yes, let's ignore the fact that we're risking our lives here and think about food. _But she decided that no matter how damn annoying Faelar was, she still had to help him. "I have some food in my bag, I think," She whispered to him, glancing over her shoulder as if to confirm it was still there. "I'd be a shame to have you starve before I get the chance to kick you down a cliffside, so why don't you take some?" She said this with a tone of dry humor.

Faelar waved his hand in dismissal, his head turned to look down the passage, "Nah. As dey say, it ain't good to eat an' run; if I ate before fighting, I'd give my stomach cramps. 'Sides, I grew up going days wit li'l or no food at times, so I'm used to it." He simply explained, giving no emotions to hint at why that was so, nor did he say it in search of pity. The rogue figured the brief explanation would deter any insisting of eating, and continued to creep along the rocky wall.

Saeola blinked at his back, a thousand reasons as to why this would be so for him popping into her head. But she brushed them aside with an annoyed scowl and shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Serosa'ruth crept along the wall across from Faelar, easily matching the thief's hiding skills. The path began to widen, and the druid began scanning the ceiling, finally spotting what he searched for. "There. An overhead path. Meant for visiting priests and the like to watch ceremonies overhead. Let's head up; there'll be fewer Malarites and they'll be easy to sneak up on. If we continue on this trail we're currently on, we'll go right into the main ceremonial room, which would blow our cover very quickly. Faelar, do you know any wind, flying, or levitating spells?"

"One or too, aye." The rogue confirmed.

"Good, then you can help Saeola." Serosa'ruth began to levitate off the ground, grabbing Ky'itae's hand to pull her up with him. When they reached the opening, he pulled themselves up into it, climbing onto the ground above. He peered down at the half-elves, "Well, come on."

Saeola's eyes followed the other two elves up, watching curiously before her eyes turned back to Faelar expectantly. She had a funny feeling Serosa'ruth could have levitated them _ALL_ up... He seemed strong enough, anyway.

Faelar grinned, holding one arm up in the air, ready to cast his spell, the other extended towards the ranger, "Well, c'mon. I con't bring you up if you just stand dere, dove."

"Obviously not." Saeola took his offered hand and shuffled close to him, but kept her distance at the same time.

Faelar sighed it what would have seemed like mild annoyance if he hadn't been smiling widely. With a quick tug, he pulled her close to him, against his side. The thief let go of her hand and instead held her in place with one arm around her shoulders, his hand grasping gently, but firmly on her bicep. He whispered a command word, and a strong burst of wind suddenly sent the two half-elves rocketing upwards. Faelar leaned once they passed the hole, sending them forward a few feet. He landed gently on the ground, and due to his firm grip on Saeola, the ranger landed safely as well.

"Now, was dat so bad, dove?" He lightly pinched the bicep his hand had held a moment before, "Hm, sturdy, corded muscles in da uppa arms. Da sign of a great archer. Not bad, dove. Ya could rival my own upper body strength."

Saeola blushed lightly despite herself at the sudden close contact. When her feet touched the solid ground of the platform she tried to shuffle away, only to get pinched. She slapped his hand away and moved out of his reach. "I can demonstrate my arching ability on YOU, if you'd like," She growled angrily, rubbing the spot on her arm he had pinched.

Faelar shrugged, holding his hands up innocently, "Calm down dove, I was complimenting you on yer physical discipline. Never thought I'd live ta see da day a woman would get pissed at bein' told she's in shape. Yer a strange one, dove. Would ya rather I declare dat yer fat? I'm not one 't lie about such thins', but, ya know... iffun dat's whot ya prefer, dove..."

It took Seaola a great deal of self-restraint not to shove the other half-elf off the platform. "That's not what I... I meant.. ARGH! Nevermind! Can we just finish this now!"

"Enough flirting, you two." Serosa'ruth walked in between them, clapping a hand on each of their shoulders. "Let's keep the noise down and keep moving."

"Right-o, boss. I'll save me comments afta we've plowed through da Malarites." Faelar promised with a sly grin.

"And I'll make sure I have plenty of arrows left," Seaola snarled in reply, keeping her voice low this time.

"You mean so he can used them as taunting practice?" Ky'itae whispered to the ranger with a grin. Serosa'ruth shot the moon elf a warning glare, and the fighter closed her mouth, though a small smile remained on her lips.

At this point she felt she should shoot them ALL with arrows. But that wasn't a serious consideration, of course. Just a vent of frustration as she shot Ky'itae a deadly look before following Serosa'ruth onward.


	7. Chapter 7

****

Chapter 7

The torches came further and further apart from one another as the four snuck down the path. Soon, a brighter, reddish light illuminated the end of the trail ahead. Three humanoid figures silhouetted the light -- Malar worshippers in silent observation. Faelar's hand flicked deftly three times, and a few seconds later, the men fell to the ground with barely a gurgle, small and narrow throwing daggers embedded in the back of their necks, near the base of their skulls.

Saeola had to admit, that was pretty good. He may have been an idiot, but Faelar had the skills to make up for it. Not like she'd ever tell him that, of course. She took an arrow from the quiver on her back and placed it on her bow, just in case.

Serosa'ruth carefully inspected the bodies, "All dead." He confirmed. Faelar grinned and saluted the group leader before leaning his head over the ledge to view the ceremony below. Saeola crept up to stand near Faelar, also peering down at the ceremony below. Of course she understood nothing of what was going on, but she knew it wasn't good.

Standing in the front of the room below was a rather tall and intimidating, dark-skinned man. His head was shaved and red tattoos covered his face and arms, representing the spraying of blood after a kill. Behind him stood a panther, bear, and wolf of Malar, their fur covered in similar red markings. Before them stood some fifty or so Malar worshippers, most of them human, though Serosa'ruth took note of a few half-elves here and there.

The high priest shouted and preached passionately, rambling on about the thrill of the hunt and when their next "celebration" would be. Faelar snorted in disgust, the first emotion other than humor he'd yet shown.

"From whot I know abou' dese blokes, deir 'celebration' means a 'unt... An' dat means releasing an innocent, defenseless, sentient being into da wild or a maze, and takin' da joy in either 'unting down da hapless bloke demselves, or sicking der damned monsters afta 'em." His black, thick eyebrows narrowed in loathing, "Damned abomination ta nature, iffun ya ask me." Apparently, it wasn't just his love of mischief he'd inherited from his elven blood, but a love of nature as well, to a certain degree.

Saeola shared the same disgust, narrowing her eyes at the sickening sight below. "Sick... Who could possibly enjoy something like that?" She muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.

The elves shrugged in unison, their eyes too glaring in hatred as the newest "prey" was dragged to the front for all to see. The four adventurers narrowed theirs eyes to inspect the unfortunate victim. A middle-aged human, probably a woodcutter by the looks of him, stumbled as the Malar clerics tugged on his bindings and brought him upon the makeshift stage.

"Infidel," the high priest began, sneering at the man, "you have been given the honor of being the prey for our next High Hunt. If you survive one full day and night on this festival, you shall earn your freedom and life." The captive snorted, knowing the unlikely chances of such a possibility.

"We need a distraction for a minute or two before the rest of us move in," Serosa'ruth growled, his painted eyebrows furrowing in anger. Faelar jumped onto the ledge, crouching down on his legs.

"Already done, boss. I can give you up to three minutes if needed." With that, the rogue sprung himself from the ledge, launching himself at a large statue of Malar's catlike beast form. He landed on its head silently, recovered his balance, then stood upright atop of the giant carving.

"OI!" He shouted above the chanting and the huntmaster's speech. A hush fell over the room as the Malarites and their prisoner looked up at him in surprise. Faelar crossed his arms, smirking, "And ya call yerselves 'unters. Whotcha need a simple woodsman fer? Aren't skilled enough to kill some real prey? I'm sure Malar's laughing at you blokes as we speak... assuming dis nutter even exists."

The huntmaster snarled ferally, pointing sharply at the young half-elf, "Kill him for his blasphemy!"

Saeola blinked rapidly at what had just happened. She quickly took an arrow and notched it, standing up from her crouched position. Is he crazy! She aimed the arrow at the high cleric, who had his head turned. She got a clear shot of the back of his head, muttering a small spell. She may not be skilled at magic, but she knew a few easy spells. Whatever could help her kill this guy, right? She released the arrow.

The huntmaster screeched in pain as the arrow literally exploded upon impact with his shoulder blade. His clergy turned back to him in fear. "Nevermind me! Get the damn half-elf! GET HIM!" He screamed, spitting blood.

Faelar laughed in what seemed to be genuine mirth as he easily dodged the rapid volley of arrows and bolts flying at him. He backflipped, pushing off his hand to put himself upright to evade an electric jolt spell. The spell left a small burn in the stone statue.

"Couldn't 'it da broad side of a red dragon, could ya?" He taunted in a singsong voice, elaborately leaping aside to avoid more projectiles, "I'm sure Malar's loving 'is faithful destroying 'is little kitten statue." The thief grinned, flinging his hand out in mid-leap. Three Malarites crumbled, daggers embedded in their eyes. "Hm... whaddya know, you guys are as dumb as you look."

Saeola wasn't sure if he was a secret genius or dumb as a rock. Either way, she hurriedly drew more arrows, aiming two at once now and muttering the same spell to both of them before she let them fly into the mob below.

Half a dozen Malarites fell to the ground seconds later, spewing blood. Those that remained snarled and began to transform, their clothing ripping as they grew snouts, claws, and tails as they took on their humanoid lycanthrope forms, most of them werewolves, and a few others wererats. Some began scaling the Malar statue to reach Faelar, while the others searched for the source of the enemy arrow volley.

"Hmph. They want lycanthropes, they'll get them." Ky'itae snorted, springing off the rock balcony, quickly shapeshifting in midair. By the time the elven woman had landed, she now held the form of a rather large brown wolf. Teeth bared and snarling, the lythari charged into the fray, clawing and tearing. Serosa'ruth followed soon after, his longswords swinging dangerously the moment his feet hit the ground.

Saeola remained on her perch, however, and continued to attack with her spell-casted arrows, drawing them and releasing them with great speed.

The huntmaster had long since yanked the arrow remains from his back and healed the wound with a quick spell. Glowering at the chaos, he grabbed the prisoner and retreated into the relative safety of the shadows.

Faelar, still atop the statue, chuckled at the climbing were-creatures. "Now, dat ain't very smart, is it?" He asked them, leaning over to look. "I mean, just one li'l push..." He clapped his hands together loudly and pushed them wide apart, a strong burst of sonic energy blasted from his hands, knocking down the Malarites and sending them plummeting towards the ground, "...an' down ya go." Those close enough to the Sound Burst spell, but not on the statue, howled in pain as the loud burst stung their ears, causing temporarily deafness.

Saeola noticed this and quickly drew arrows, casting her spell on them and firing them quickly at the stunned creatures. Unfortunately, she forgot about the ones climbing up to reach her until she felt claws dig into her ankle. "Damn!" She yelped in surprise, jabbing an arrow point into the creature's eye before kicking it hard in the face, throwing it back down. She backed away from the ledge with a half limp and drew more arrows, firing them and never missing a beat in her fighting.

The statue threat put to rest, Faelar flicked a few daggers at those climbing up towards Saeola before jumping down, bouncing off of the statue's nose, then arm, then leg before landing on the ground, his dagger and shortsword withdrawn. Gracefully dodging a swipe from a wererat, the half-elf sliced across the Malarite's arm with his sword. The creature scampered away in magically-induced fear, to which the thief grinned.

"Now ye see why I named dis guy 'Glorykiller.' Keep running like da scared rat dat ya are!" Kicking a werewolf in the snout, the rogue scanned the room. "Speaking of rats, best find da 'ead 'oncho." Slitting a nearby Malarite's throat, Faelar disappeared into the shadows, in pursuit of the huntmaster.

Serosa'ruth took brief notice of the thief's departure, carefully avoided the contagious bites of his enemy lycanthropes. The last thing he wanted was to become one of these monsters. Swinging his glowing blades, the druid decapitated a wererat and slit the throat of a werewolf in one stroke. He fought his way towards Ky'itae, helping her pick off the remaining Malarites.

Saeola fired a few more arrows to help Serosa'ruth and Ky'itae finish the remaining Malarites before she descended from her perch. She had lost sight of Faelar, but wasn't concerned. Given his skill, he could probably take the high priest on all by himself. She hurried over to where her other two companions were, drawing her sword just in case as the last few Malarites fell. "I think we got them all," She said, although it was completely unnecessary.

Serosa'ruth yanked his white blade from the last werewolf, swishing it to remove the blood before sheathing it. He nodded in acknowledgement to her statement while Ky'itae shifted back to her elven form.

- - -

Cursing, the huntmaster wove through the passageway, irritated at the lack of light in this lesser-used path. "I hate the dark." He grumbled.

"Fear not the dark, bloke," a heavily accented voice hissed behind him just before a sharp pain erupted in the evil human's skull, his limited vision blurring. His grip on the captive relaxed as he slumped to the floor. Faelar stepped out of the shadows, glaring at the dead Malarite, his dagger, Quickdeath, dripping crimson. "...But dat which lurks within it." He twirled his dagger and turned to the woodcutter.

"'Ow're you, mate? 'E didun 'urt you, did 'e?" The rogue asked, a slight tone of mirth sprinkling his concern. The bearded man slowly shook his head.

"No... I'm fine..."

"Good!" Faelar smiled, clapping his hands before swiping Quickdeath through the rope bindings, "There, tha's better, izzinit? C'mon, let's get ya to me companions. I'm sure they're finished by now. We kin get you home safely, my friend."

"Many thanks..." the man mumbled, still dazed from the day's insane ordeals. Faelar clapped a hand on the man's back and led him back to the others.

Saeola glanced around at the mess, not really looking for anything. Her eyes stopped when she noticed Faelar and the captured woodsman emerge. She turned around to face them and met them halfway, sword hung loosely at her side. "Well, now that he's safe what do you say we amscray?"

"Not until we get something fer dat ankle, dove." Faelar retorted, pointing at her still-bleeding ankle. "I sure 'ope those are from claws, not teeth. Otherwise we'd betta find a belldonna fast."

Saeola glanced at her ankle, crimson crisscrossing down her heel from the deep gashes. She shrugged. "Don't worry, they were just claws. I'll be fine."

"Still, yer limping. A dove wit a mangled wing cannot fly well, if at all." Faelar nodded sagely, turning his head to Serosa'ruth, "So, boss... know any decent 'ealing spells?" The druid approached Saeola, inspecting the ranger's ankle. He stroked his chin and furrowed his eyebrows.

"None good enough to fully heal it, but..." He extended his gloved hand towards her bleeding ankle and began muttering in Druidic. The blood flow slowed, and the gashes shrank considerably until they were barely an inch long each. "That should still help. How's it feel, Saeola?"

Saeola smiled against the soothing feeling of the healing magic and worked her ankle a bit. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from Faelar's comment and she didn't understand why. "Yes, much better! Thanks. Sorry I was careless. I hope you didn't have to use too much energy."

Serosa'ruth smiled, though with his cloth mask it was hard to see. He shook his head, "No, that's probably only the second or third spell I've used today. Minor healing spells don't take much out of me. We'll get it properly wrapped once we're out of here. First, let's get... um..." He turned to the human woodcutter.

"Cemai." The dirty-blonde human answered.

"--Cemai, home." Serosa'ruth finished. "That is, assuming the Malarites didn't whisk you hundreds of miles away?"

"If we're still in the southern Nether Mountains, then we shouldn't be more than a few day's journey from my home." Cemai nodded, "Though, judging for the amount of time I felt like I was blindfolded and carried off, it's probably only a few hours away."

"Well, that's good." Ky'itae chuckled, "We are in the lower parts of the Nether Mountains. Perhaps you can guide us once we get outside, so... let's go, huh?" The moon elf motioned for Serosa'ruth to lead, to which the druid complied with a nod, Cemai and Faelar close behind him. Ky'itae waited until Saeola walked out, then fell into step with the ranger, close enough to talk in hushed tones.

"So..." the fighter elf glanced ahead, smirking slightly, "What's the status of Faelar in your eyes? Not bad in a fight, is he?"

Saeola gave Ky'itae a flat look at the question as she walked, occasionally limping to relieve the pressure from her injured ankle. "Sure he can fight, but that doesn't make up for how annoying he is," She muttered.

"Still, you have to admit, it's not boring with him here." The moon elf grinned.

"It's not worth it." Although honestly, that wasn't true at all for her. She wouldn't admit it, but it was nice to have another half-elf around. It made her feel less out of place.

Ky'itae paused a few moments as if deciding whether or not to vocalize what she wanted to say next. Finally, she decided to hells with it and whispered lowly with a snicker, "So, when's the wedding?"

Saeola choked on nothing and coughed, nearly tripping over her own feet. Luckily she managed to keep upright and she shot Ky'itae a steely glare. "That wasn't funny," She growled. Of all the people in the world to get stuck with... I get stuck with the Three Stooges of the universe.

Ky'itae smiled in elven playfulness, "I thought it was."

Saeola chose to say nothing in reply and took to glaring ahead of her, eyes focusing on no one or nothing in particular. ...And I've become the butt of their jokes, too.

Serosa'ruth led the small party in retracing their steps before finally reaching the opening he'd made many hours ago. Faelar and Cemai smiled widely at the glowing sunset.

"Good to be out in the open air again." Cemai sighed happily, Faelar nodding in agreement.

"Well, it's a few hours to the bottom if we walk, and there's really no good place to camp, so...got any flying or somesuch spells left, Faelar?"

"Sure, boss."

"Right, cast it, then. I'll meet you at the bottom." The druid pulled Ky'itae and Cemai close to him and levitated down the mountainside, keeping close to the rock in case his spell suddenly gave out. Faelar turned to Saeola, chuckling.

"I'm beginning to think 'e's doing dis on purpose. Well, time to go down, eh dove?"

Saeola sighed softly when the cool breeze of evening hit her face. She closed her eyes for a few seconds to relish it before her eyes opened in time to see the others float down the mountainside. She caught Faelar's comment. Of course he is. She thought dryly, glaring after the cloaked elf. She turned and took Faelar's arm without a word, shuffling close to him and bracing herself for the descent.

"'Old on tight, dove." With that, Faelar leapt off the mountainside, rocketing towards the ground, passing the trio within seconds and still picking up speed. The rogue laughed at the surge of adrenaline through his body as he and the ranger quickly zoomed in on the ground below, with no signs of slowing down.

Naturally, this caught Saeola completely off guard and she let out a cry of fear, throwing her arms around his neck as if that would somehow help. "What the hells are you doing!" She screamed at him.

The thief turned his head to face the ranger, grinning smugly. When they came within fifty feet of the earth, he simply snapped his fingers, slowing them down immensely, landing them safely and softly on the grassy ground a few moments later.

Saeola stumbled away from him, dazed and clutching her stomach that had done a flip-flop due to the abrupt halt. She then whirled around and swung her hand like she was going to slap him. Of course she knew she'd just miss, so it was a half-hearted attempt. "You trying to give me a bloody heart attack!"

Faelar crossed his arms, scrunching up his face in mock seriousness, "Ya know whot yer problem is, dove? Ya take things too seriously. C'mon, live a little! Life ain't worth living if ya let a stick remain rammed up yer arse all the time." His medium brown eyes twinkled in amusement.

Saeola glowered, hands clenched at her sides. "Shut it. I still have arrows left, you know." That wasn't even the point. It was one thing to 'live a little' and another to take a nose-dive off a cliffside to certain death clinging to an idiot. Well, at least to her.

"No, ya don't." Faelar pointed to her empty quiver, grinning impishly.

Saeola's eye twitched. "Then I have my sword. And even if I didn't, I'm sure I could find a good rock or some other object to cause you bodily harm."

"Wouldn't suggest it, dove. Objects flying at me 'ave a tendency ta bounce back." His dark lips cracked into a wider grin, his light teeth contrasting with his skin.

She crossed her arms over her chest." Very well. I'll kill you in your sleep." It was hard to tell if she was kidding or not.

The thief merely laughed, "Please, do try. I'd love a challange. Ya know, I do pity any poor sap dat tries ta break dis fiery personality of yours."

"Argh! That's it! You, go away, NOW! We're done with this rescue mission, you helped us out a lot, thanks, goodbye!"

"Last time I checked, dove, ya weren't da one in charge." Faelar pointed behind the ranger.

Saeola blinked and turned around to see the other members of their little group. She actually thought of asking Serosa'ruth to make the other half-elf leave before she remembered he, too, was out to get her and it would be a waste of a breath. No god watching out for me today, is there...? She thought dryly to herself. What the hells did I do to deserve this!

"Actually, I was going to offer our little prankster here to stay with us," Serosa'ruth stated simply, to neither half-elf's surprise, "That is, if he wants to. We could use your skills, Faelar." The thief hmmed to himself, tapping his earrings in thought.

"Well... eh, whot da 'ells? 'S not like I have anything important to attend to, an' travelin' in numbers is safer. So, sure, boss!" He grinned, giving the druid a thumbs-up while winking at Saeola.

Saeola muttered dark things under her breath, shooting the other half-elf a deadly glare when he winked at her. If she didn't kill him she would undoubtedly end up killing herself.

Serosa'ruth chuckled, turning to Cemai, "Do you recognize this area?" The human squinted at the quickly darkening area, then nodded slowly.

"We should be close to a path that leads through the woods and to my home. If you guys can give me a light source, I'll gladly show you to my cabin, where you can spend the night. We have a small spare room that can fit two of you, and we can make beds in the common area for the others."

Faelar plucked a rock from the ground, waved his hand around it while twirling his fingers. The rock began to emit a low white glow that expanded in all directions within five feet of it. "Dis work, mate?"

"Oh, yes, very much, thank you." The woodcutter took the rock from Faelar and used it as his guiding light as he ventured off into the forest, the adventurers close behind.


	8. Chapter 8

****

Chapter 8

Saeola made sure to stay near the front of the group, keeping herself as distant from Faelar as possible. She walked silently, trying not to limp. She was grateful now that they would be sleeping in doors. The ranger loved sleeping outside, of course, but it was nice to have a roof over your head sometimes.

They reached Cemai's cabin a little after darkness completely fell. After a brief but heartfelt reunion with his wife and young daughter, Cemai introduced the adventurers and ushered them inside.

The house was warm and cozy, a fire cracking in the stove warming the small living space. Saeola sighed at the warmth compared to the cold now settling outside due to the absence of the sun. She moved further in and greeted Cemai's wife and daughter with polite words and gestures.

The human woman welcomed her and the others inside, before fussing over Saeola's claw wound, ushering the young ranger into a chair while she fetched bandages.

"Cozy. Reminds me o' my ferst 'ome," Faelar scanned the modest cabin, "Dat is... if I could even really remember my ferst 'ome." Serosa'ruth chuckled at the rogue's jest.

Saeola chuckled softly and probably would have protested the woman's care had she not been so persistent. So she did as told, sitting and awaiting care. She glanced over a Faelar when he spoke. Her expression tittered between trying hard _not_ to care and trying hard _to_ care, which was a bit odd. Then Ionnia, Cemai's wife, came rushing back in with the bandages.

"It doesn't look too bad, but just to be safe I'll wrap them," She said with a kind smile.

"Thanks," Saeola replied softly, turning her attention to her and away from Faelar.

"You seem like a city-dweller from your... profession and accent, Faelar," Serosa'ruth quipped, "So why would a cabin remind you of an old home?"

"Well-" Before he could explain, his stomach rumbled loudly. Turning to his hosts, the thief put a hand to his stomach, "Sooo... got anything to eat?" He asked with a grin accompanied by a large growl from his stomach.

Ionnia chuckled, but did not look up from her work of bandaging Saeola's injured ankle. "Of course! I'll get you something in just a moment... Done!" She stood from her kneeling position and smiled at the female half-elf before turning away, heading into the small cooking space. "Hmm, there should be something... Honey, we've got to have something here, right?"

"There should still be some deer meat left over from yesterday evening," Cemai replied, looking up from playing with his daughter, "I believe it's out in the cellar. Hold on, I'll go get it." The woodcutter excused himself and walked out the door to retrieve the food. While he left, Faelar crouched down to come face-to-face with Cemai's daughter.

"'Ello there, lil' one," he smiled genuinely, "'Does yer stomach talk to ya when ya get hungry, too?"

Myha giggled, tugging lightly on Faelar's goatee, "Silly 'venturer," she smiled, "Stomachs don't talk!" Faelar sat down and crossed his legs, picking up the young child and placing her on his thigh.

"Sure dey do!" He grinned, "Righ' now mine's sayin', 'Feed me! Feeeed Meeeeeeee!" He emphasized his statement by tickling the little human every time he said "Feed me." Myha squealed a short fit of giggles, squirming when the rouge tickled her stomach.

Saeola leaned back in her chair, merely content on sitting here watching the flames flicker in the stove. She glanced over briefly at Faelar and the young girl, smiling at the sight before turning back to stare into the fire. Her face appeared pensive.

Serosa'ruth crouched down next to the ranger, "Lost in thought?" He asked, keeping his voice just loud enough to be heard over Faelar and Myha's antics.

Saeola blinked and glanced over at Serosa'ruth. She then smiled faintly and turned her eyes back to the stove. "More or less, yeah. I'm probably just tired."

Serosa'ruth patted her on the shoulder, his blue eyes hinting at a smile, "Well, it's been one insane day. You should probably go right to bed after we all eat something."

Saeola chuckled and nodded. "Most defiantly I will. Ah... any idea where we go from here?"

Serosa'ruth shrugged, "I was thinking of heading back south/southwest, towards the Sword Coast... maybe see what's going on in Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate and the areas surrounding them."

"Mm... That sounds like a good idea to me."

The druid gave her another pat on the shoulder, standing back up as Cemai returned with meat, "Well, we'll discuss it more with Ky'itae and Faelar tomorrow morning. For now, we get to relax for a while." He left to go offer help cooking their meal. Faelar sat down where the druid had just left, Myha on his shoulders, tugging on his raven black locks.

"Feelin' better, dove?" He asked, chuckling when Myha began flicking at all six of his ring earrings at once.

Saeola watched the druid leave, glanced briefly to Faelar before her eyes flickered back to the stove with a small smile caressing her lips. "Yes, thanks. There's no more pain."

"Well, dat's good --ah! Myha, no tuggin' on da spike earrings!" The rogue winced as his earlobes were briefly stretched before the human girl let go. "Revenge!" he declared, reaching around his head to tickle Myha from behind.

Saeola turned to watch them, finding herself laughing at their games. Myha giggled in delight and squirmed to get away from the tickle bug -- also known as Faelar's hand.

"You sure you want to keep that cloak on in here? Aren't you hot in it?" Cemai asked Serosa'ruth as the druid helped him place the meat over the fire.

"No, I'm quite fine as I am now." The elven male insisted. Cemai raised his eyebrows, but pushed the druid no further.

Saeola then stood, stretching her arms over her head lazily and glancing over to Cemai and Serosa'ruth. "Can I help you with anything?" She called to them.

"No, I think we've got it," Cemai answered, insuring the meat was fully impaled on the rotating stick, "All we really have to do is wait." He turned to see his daughter rough housing with Faelar and laughed, "Looks like she's already grown attached to you, rogue."

"What better playmate for a child than an overgrown kid?" Ky'itae quipped with a laugh to which Faelar grinned widely.

Saeola, still standing near the chair with one hand on its back, chuckled and glanced back to them. "At least he's picking on someone else for a change."

Faelar puffed his chest out in false indignity, "I don't 'pick on' dove, I jus' play." His statement ended awkwardly as a giggling Myha stretched his cheeks by pulling on the insides of his lips. "'Ey! Eheh on heh ips!"

Saeola couldn't help but laugh at this. Myha was so cute and Faelar looked so ridiculous that she just had to find it funny. Anyone would.

Somehow the mouth tugging turned into a mock wrestling match. In moments, Faelar lay on his back, Myha sitting on his chest, thus "pinning" the rogue in victory before he commenced tickling her again. Saeola sat back down in her chair, amused to merely watch this game of theirs.

The other cabin inhabitants did the same, glad to have an amusing reprieve from their exhausting and trialing day. Faelar finally pulled Myha off of him when Ionnia announced that the food was ready. "All righ'! Food!"

Saeola sighed softly and headed toward the smell. "Finally..."

Cemai offered Serosa'ruth a plate after serving the food, "Here you are, Serosa'ruth." The druid thanked the man, taking the plate.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to eat outside." The male elf said, starting towards the door. Cemai raised an eyebrow, but relented.

"If you want, go ahead." He replied, "...Strange druids..."

"Does our sword-wielding nature lover eva take dat mask off, or 'as 'e learned ta eat wit it on?" Faelar jokingly asked, helping himself to a larger piece of meat.

Saeola watched Serosa'ruth with an expressionless face as she gathered food for herself, politely taking only the amount she needed to fill her stomach. A good question... The answer seemed to be "no." At least, not while they were around. "Yes, I'd like to know that as well."

"You two are quite a pair of nosy half-elves." Ky'itae half-teased, poking Saeola lightly in the arm with her fork.

"Hey, I have a right to be curious," Saeola chuckled, waving the fork away with her own. "I've never seen his face, even after traveling with him a while. Have you?"

Ky'itae chewed on a piece of meat before grinning mischievously, "That's for me to know and for you to continue pondering." Saeola gave her a flat look before beginning to eat herself, pondering it even though she didn't mean to.

"'Ow 'eavy a sleeper izze?" Faelar questioned, already half finished with his food.

"Serosa'ruth?" Ky'itae asked in clarification, to which Faelar nodded, "Why...?" The elven woman raised her brown eyebrow in suspicion.

"You plan to remove his cloak while he sleeps?" Saeola chuckled after she had swallowed her bite.

"Naw, dat would be too 'ard to nick da whole thin' off." The rogue retorted, gulping down a glass of water, "Ah! Feels good to 'ave food in me stomach again!"

Saeola decided she didn't want to know. It was his funeral. She finished her meal shortly after they had and finished off her own glass of water. "It does," She agreed. "And now sleep."

"Sleep would be good." Ky'itae agreed, rising from the table, "I'll go get Sero." The elf fighter walked outside while Faelar picked up her plate and utensils, attempting to balance them in his hands while Myha tried to swing from his forearms. Saeola took her own dishes, chuckling at the sight as she placed them near the sink. She then stretched and moved away, eager for rest.

"It's all right with you to share a room, isn't it? I'm afraid this place isn't that big for all of you," Ionnia asked the ranger.

"Of course."

Cemai picked up Myha from Faelar's arm, holding the child against his chest, "Well, we can convert the extra space in the storage for into a sleeping area for two of them. The others will have to stay in the living room." Noting the reentrance of the two elves, he added, "You guys should probably decide who you want to 'bunk' with soon."

Saeola raised her hand halfway. "I'd rather bunk with the other female of the group..." There was no way in the nine hells she was sleeping in the same room as Faelar and she didn't know Serosa'ruth as well. In truth, Ky'itae was the only one she had really bonded with yet... sort of.

Ky'itae blinked, and shrugged, "Fine with me..."

"If I can sleep by the windows, I don't care who's my bunkmate." Serosa'ruth added. Faelar grinned, slapping the druid on the back.

"Looks like yer rooming wit me, den, boss!"

Saeola patted Serosa'ruth on the shoulder. "Sorry." But she knew he probably didn't mind as much as she would have.

The swordsman shrugged nonchalantly, "Nindel zhah dro."

Saeola wasn't sure what that meant, but the way he had said it made her believe it was a "Whatever" type of comment. She gave a mighty yawn. "Well... good night, then."

"I'll take the men to the storage room, then. There's a fairly large window in the back." Cemai motioned for the two elven-blooded males to follow.

Serosa'ruth grabbed the scruff of Faelar's shirt and pulled the rogue along. "C'mon, Sir Pranks-a-lot, let's let the womenfolk set up for the night."

Saeola felt both relieved and strangely disappointed to see Faelar leave. "At least now I can sleep without him waking me up with his teasing every so often," She sighed.

"Assuming he doesn't sneak in during the night to pester you." Ky'itae grinned, helping their hostess set up a few makeshift beds.

"I would trust Serosa'ruth not to let him..." Then again, she probably should have known better. She moved over to help the other two with the beds as well.

"Actually, I have a feeling Faelar's probably gonna let curiosity get him into trouble right where he is now." The moon elf laughed, pulling a sheet over her own floor bed.

Saeola glanced at her curiously. "He'd be stupid enough to try pulling Serosa'ruth's cloak off?"

"Oh, I don't think he's gonna try to yank the whole thing off. Even for him, I'd imagine that'd be difficult." Ky'itae winked at the ranger. "My guess is that he'll just go for the cloth mask covering the lower half of Sero's face. In all honesty, I have no idea why he wears the mask part. There's nothing wrong with the bottom half of his face." The fighter suddenly froze at her slip-up.

Saeola stopped folding out the sheets for her soon-to-be bed and glanced up at Ky'itae. "So," She said slowly, straightening. "You _HAVE_ seen his face. You know exactly why he keeps himself hidden, don't you?" She should have suspected this, she figured. After all, they had been traveling together for awhile. It wasn't her place to ask, really, but she never really was one to stay in her place.

Ky'itae stuck her tongue out at the half-elf, "Oh no, I don't have to say anything."

Saeola huffed and went back to her work. "I know, but that doesn't stop me from trying."

"Maybe one day, ranger. You have to earn his deepest and total trust... Not something he just hands out. Patience, that's all I can tell you." Ky'itae wagged her finger at her younger companion.

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Well, g'night." Ky'itae settled into her sheets, pulling her sword close to her -- just in case.

Saeola chuckled softly. "G'night." She crawled underneath the covers of her own bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

- - -

Serosa'ruth had long since drifted off, it seemed. Unlike the others, he sat upright on his bed, leaning against the cabin wall, his head lowered, leaving dark shadows on his face from his hood.

Faelar hung from the ceiling's rafters, slowly and silently lowering himself on some spare rope he'd found. He held in his breath as his hand closed in on Serosa'ruth's cloth mask...

"Curiosity killed the cat," Serosa'ruth spoke from under his cloak, startling Faelar enough to send him stumbling to the floor, "And it can kill the rogue if he's not careful." The druid opened a glowing-red eye at the half-elf. Faelar sat up, rubbing his neck and grinning sheepishly.

"Con't blame a bloke for trying, eh?"

"Actually, I can." Serosa'ruth flicked the thief's brown nose, "Get back to your side of the room."

"Eheh... right, Boss." Faelar scurried off while Serosa'ruth chuckled lowly to himself.

- - -

Serosa'ruth roused the party barely after dawn the next morning. "Come, we'd best be moving on." The druid urged, lightly shaking Saeola's shoulder.

Saeola muttered something and stirred, opening her green eye halfway to blink at him. "Too early..." She mumbled and rolled over, back to the druid.

"This is an hour later than I usually wake. Get moving." When Saeola still refused to stir, the druid yanked her blankets off, pulled the ranger up, and hefted her over his shoulder. It was an odd sight to behold, seeing as Saeola was about three inches taller than the elf that now held her. "Ky'itae, get her things together. I've already spoken with Cemai. Let's go."

"Right." Already wide-awake, dressed, and ready, the moon elf gathered up the ranger's belongings with some aid from Faelar.

Saeola yelped, now wide awake herself, and squirmed in his grasp in shock. "HEY!" She screeched, embarrassed as she pounded a fist half-heartedly on his back. "Splashing water on my face wouldn't worked too, ya know!"

"But not as effective or as quick." The druid replied calmly. Faelar was too busy holding his sides from laughter to comment.

Saeola shot Faelar a deadly glare, a lit flush of embarrassment tainting her cheeks. "You're all so damn funny..." She grumbled sarcastically under her breath.

Serosa'ruth jerked his arm, shaking the ranger briefly, "And you could use some of that humor." He waved to Cemai as he passed the front door, "Thanks for your hospitality."

"Least I could do, druid." The woodcutter smiled, "Remember, if you're ever in the area again, you're welcome to another meal and board if you ever need it."

"We'll keep that in mind. Goodbye!"

"A sense of humor at my own expense!" Saeola cried, voice fading from the family's ears as the group left. "I 'oughta hurt you for this!"

"My, they sure were... um... lively," Ionnia chuckled nervously.

"I guess that's one way to describe it," Cemai chuckled, picking up their young daughter, who wanted to follow.

- - -

"See, dat's whot I told 'er yesterday. She needs to lighten up." Faelar grinned, tapping Saeola on the nose, moving his fingers quickly when she attempted to bite him.

"But at _my own expense_!" Saeola cried, flailing like an idiot.

"What expense? You won't be losing much." Ky'itae pointed out with a smile.

Saeola stopped and dropped her arms, glaring and pouting at the same time. "This is unfair, it's three against one."

"We know." Serosa'ruth laughed, "Now, do you want to get dressed, or am I going to have to carry you in your under tunic all the way from here to Yartar?"

"I choose clothing, please..."

"Good. My shoulder was starting to stiffen." Serosa'ruth set the ranger on the ground before Ky'itae tossed Saeola's clothes over to her. The ranger caught them, muttered something and disappeared behind some trees and thick brush to dress.

Faelar raised a thick black eyebrow. "...Why'd she do dat? She was already covered up wit da under-tunic..."

"We women are strange creatures, Faelar." Ky'itae giggled, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

Saeola felt the desire to shout, "Because I fucking can!" but decided she had embarrassed herself enough for the day and bit her tongue. She finished changing and stepped out, making a few last adjustments on the clasp of her cloak. "All right, let's start walking. We have a long way to go." _This is going to be one painful trip..._

"Indeed. Let's be off." Serosa'ruth waved his companions onward in front of the rising sun.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Saeola examined a display of lovely necklaces and bracelets with mild interest, arms bent behind her head. Athkatla had such interesting items, according to just about everyone, yet she didn't find them as interesting thus far. Just a lot of useless junk that one had to carry. This was probably her weary feet talking, though. They had been walking the entire day.

"Are ya tellin' me I con't use me magic at _all_ 'ere?" Faelar complained to a local guard for what seemed like the thousandth time that afternoon. The tanned human sighed in irritation.

"Those are the laws of the city, half-elf," he growled, "Deal with it. And if you can't, the Cowled Wizards will gladly take you away to gods-know-where they send magical deviants."

Faelar sighed in defeated and scuffled off to find his party members. "Damned southern cities..."

Saeola glanced over her shoulder at the ruckus and smirked at Faelar. "Forgotten how to function without it? Bummer."

The rogue/sorcerer stuck his tongue out at the ranger, "I can live witout it, it's jus' fun ta mess around wit."

"Which is probably why they banned arcane magic here," Serosa'ruth chuckled, coming up behind the two half-elves, "They saw you coming and wanted to enhance damage control as much as possible."

"Your reputation proceeds you," Saeola smirked. It'd been about three more months now since Faelar had joined their little party -- and most of that time had been spent driving Saeola insane. Therefore, the ranger relished her rare chance to return the favor.

"Please do not think me rude," A deeply tanned woman sighed. "But... this really isn't worth the price." She held up the severally damaged arm guard, only to have several pieces fall off the back of it to create a nice hole. She bit her lip. "Case in point."

"You break it you buy it!" The merchant scowled, waving a thick hand at her.

"But it was already broken!"

"You wanna start something!" The woman shook her head quickly and quickly scattered some golden coins on the table for the man, accidentally giving him more than the actual price in her haste. Of course, the greedy merchant said nothing of it and scooped all the coins up.

"S-Sorry," She muttered, clearly annoyed but not looking to start trouble.

Ky'itae noticed the small show and frowned. Glancing at Faelar, who nodded in understanding before using stealth to disappear into the crowd, the moon elf approached the young woman, handing another piece of the damaged gauntlet, "You really shouldn't let him push you like that, you know. Athkatla may be a city of greed, but I'm sure one of the local paladin orders would defend you if you brought the matter to their attention."

The human blinked at Ky'itae before hastily snatching the piece she had picked up, apologizing instantly for her rudeness before dumping it and the remains of the gauntlet in her pack. She then threw it over one shoulder, swinging her dark and long braided hair out of the way. "I-It's fine. I don't like to start trouble. I'm the only one who suffers for it, it doesn't matter. As long as no one else is suffering."

"That's rather sickeningly noble," Saeola snickered from behind Ky'itae. "Didn't know those kind of people really existed."

The tan woman gave her a rather nasty glare. "Yes, I'm sure kindness isn't something half-elves know much about."

"Ooo, there we go. Spite. I knew you weren't a goody-two-shoes." At this point Ky'itae was beginning to wonder if Saeola truly got along with anyone.

"I find it odd that a follower of Waukeen would stand for stand for such mistreatment in trade transactions." Serosa'ruth came up, observing the symbol of Waukeen, goddess of merchants and trading, on the woman's ring.

"Well, whoteva da reason, 'ere's yer money back wit a li'l bonus." Faelar suddenly appeared out of the crowd and tossed a bag of gold and silver coins at the human.

The woman blinked at Serosa'ruth before catching the bag of gold in surprise. She stared at it. "How did you..." She shook her head and looked ashamed. "Yes, I'm not much for serving my goddess, am I?"

"I 'appened to find a gauntlet dat's actually worth somethin', if ya want it," The half-elf offered the sturdy and enchanted arm protection to her.

She shuffled away from the gauntlet Faelar held as if it would bite her. "N-No, thanks. I never wanted one..." And even if she did, it was not like she'd take one from a half-elf.

"Aw, c'mon, ya paid enough money fer it, ya deserve it. It's not yer fault dat bloody merchant doesn't keep 'is decent merchandise well-locked." The rogue grinned, though inwardly he could already detect the all-too-familiar distrust of his heritage. Was it _his_ fault his father decided to mate with a human instead of another elf? He noticed Saeola's disapproving looks at his thievery and only grinned wider, just to spite the other wild half-elf.

"If you did not want one, why did you try to buy one?" asked Serosa'ruth, genuinely bemused, "Well... if you don't want it, then don't feel as if you should take it. Faelar, stop shoving that gauntlet in her face and sneak it back to its owner."

"Eh... does it 'ave to be its owner?" The rogue sighed, "Cuz 'e's kinda a jerk-off..."

The woman shook her head, looking irritated. Her hands that she had held up to keep Faelar a fair distance away lowered slightly. "No, I wasn't trying to buy one. I was just commenting... offering him types since he wasn't making any sales and it broke when I picked it up. He made me buy it."

Saeola suddenly snatched the gauntlet from Faelar. "It may be stolen, but it looks nice. I'll take it. Better than giving it back to that merchant."

"Speaking of dat merchant, 'e's coming dis way, dove." Faelar pointed behind the ranger.

Saeola blinked and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"You thief!" The merchant cried, grabbing Saeola's wrists and twisting them so that she dropped the item. "No one steals from me, wench!"

Saeola looked unfazed and gave him a flat look. "Oh my, you've caught the wrong half-elf." She jerked her head to Faelar. "He's your thief."

"Don't lie, I caught you red handed!"

"Do I _LOOK_ like a thief to you? Check the bow and arrows, buddy."

Serosa'ruth tapped the merchant on the shoulder. The plump human jerked his head around to face the cloaked elf.

"I suggest you stop making false accusations right now, or you'll find yourself even less happy than you are now. Let her go." The druid warned. The merchant only snorted.

"I'd like to see you try and stop me from snapping her bones, _elf_." He spoke the last word as if it were an explanative.

Serosa'ruth shrugged, "Very well. Firstly, that gauntlet you claim she stole from you isn't even yours. I noticed the mark of the Shadow Thieves on its wrists. Funny... last I heard, they didn't do business with merchants in this quarter. I'd like to know how you acquired it, merchant." The tradesman paled, dropping Saeola.

"Oh... eheheh... must not be mine. Sorry, sorry, thought you were someone else." The human quickly backed away and headed towards his stand.

"By the way, sir..." Serosa'ruth tapped the merchant shoulder again. The human turned around, only to feel the harsh and quite hard butt of a sword slam into his face, shattering his nose. Serosa'ruth grabbed the bleeding merchant by the scruff of his clothes and pulled him close to his face, the scene somewhat comical looking due to the druid's small size.

"It's rude to treat customers, or any visitors to your fine city, as such," The elven male snarled, his blue eyes flashing angrily, "I won't catch you doing it again, will I?"

"N-no s-s-sir." The merchant stuttered, holding his broken nose.

"Good." Serosa'ruth threw the man to the ground and tossed a few silver coins down. "Use them to hire a cleric's services for that nose. It's so much easier and less painful than letting it heal on its own."

Saeola blinked from where she had fallen on the ground. Then she whistled lowly. "Damn. I'm real glad I'm your ally." She stood and brushed herself off before rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I owe you one." Meanwhile, the Waukeen cleric could only stare in shock.

Serosa'ruth smiled, though the others couldn't see aside from in his eyes, "I don't let others mess with my friends. No debt is required. And Faelar--" He turned to the rogue, who grinned sheepishly, "I would expect you to be more subtle than that."

"Well, da funny thing is..." The male half-elf rubbed his neck in mild confusion, "I didun steal anything from 'is stall. It was da guy next to 'im. Da one sellin' da rusty longswords. Methinks Mr. Broken Nose was tryin' ta take advantage of someone 'oldin' some seedy-lookin' merchandise. Bah. An' ya people wonder why I 'ave no qualms of relieving dese blokes 'o their gold."

The cleric suddenly chuckled softly. "Steal from the rich and keep for yourself, huh? I suppose that's normal for a thief. Unless you give to the poor. That would be noble."

Saeola snorted. "Thieves aren't generally noble."

The woman smirked shyly. Somehow everyone could see Faelar and Saeola's flirting but Saeola herself. "But, he's kinda cute."

"If you squint your eyes and stand on your head while jabbing a dagger in your eye..."

The cleric, however, was no longer listening and had turned to Serosa'ruth, bowing politely. "Thank you and your group for getting my money back." Just because she was weary of trusting them didn't mean she had to be rude.

Serosa'ruth nodded his head in response, "You're welcome. As was said, he shouldn't treat his customers as such."

"'Ey!" Faelar suddenly spoke up, indignant, "Who says I don't give to da poor? Remind me, who was da ferst one ta donate somethin' to da temple 'o Illmater dis mornin'? I'm pretty sure it wasn't Miss Arrows over 'ere."

Ky'itae chuckled, "Okay, we have to give him that one."

Saeola crossed her arms over her chest and snorted, rolling her eyes. "Fine, fine… Give him that one. But overall: He's just your average greedy thief."

"Dat 'urt, dove. Fer yer information, every copper I take from da rich dat doesn't go ta charity is only used fer things I need ta survive: food, equipment, inn fees. If I was greedy, you'd be copperless righ' now an' I woulda already made a nice an' cozy livin' in Tethyr or Calimshan." The rogue crossed his arms and "hmphed" smugly at Saeola.

Saeola merely stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"All right, enough flirting you two," Ky'itae stepped between the wild half-elves, clapping each on their shoulders, "It's rude not to introduce ourselves to someone new." She motioned towards the cleric with her head.

The tanned human shook her head. "I-It's fine... I don't need to know names, I'm leaving..."

"Oi, _she's_ the rude one," Saeola snorted. "But for the hells of it, I'm Saeola."

The woman hesitated before sighing softly. "Miri."

"Faelar." The rogue saluted the human woman with a grin.

"Ky'itae." Smiling at Miri, the moon elf nodded.

"Serosa'ruth." The druid nodded briefly once more.

Miri smiled at them weakly. She felt a little uncomfortable, but in debt to them for helping her. "It's nice to meet you all. Forgive my behavior... It's the way I was raised, I'm afraid. I try hard to think outside it, but..."

Faelar squinted at her, taking careful note of her skin tone, hair color, and clothing. "Ahhh. Calishite, right? Say no more. If ya ask me, yer da politest one I've met yet... Not dat I'm trying ta generalize folk from Calimshan."

Miri shrugged a bit and offered another weak smile. "Ah... Not really. I've just learned that when you travel, you meet a lot of people. Not liking someone because of their race doesn't promise good traveling. I'm a Calishite... but... I'm kind of an outcast."

"Well, you'd fit in righ' well with us, methinks." Faelar grinned. "I mean, look -- two wild 'alf-elves," He patted his own chest and tapped Saeola's with the back of his hand -- removing it before she could smack it away -- then pointed to Ky'itae. "An elven maid who wears a 'eavy metallic breastplate an' cleaves orcs wit a bastard sword --" lastly, he thumb-pointed at Serosa'ruth, "-- an' da boss 'ere who won't eva take dat damn cloak off an' likes ta smash jerkwads' faces in."

Miri chuckled nervously. "Interesting description. You sound like a fun bunch, though."

Saeola snorted. "Fun my ass."

"Well, I meant besides you."

"Shut it."

"Ah, I like dis woman already," Faelar grinned, "She knows da art of 'piss-da-ranger-off-easily' quite well. I can respect dat."

Saeola growled angrily. "Yeah, just what we need in this group. Another one of _those_..."

Miri grinned. "I'm interested... Can I join you?"

"Well... not that I'm going to say no or yes yet, but... what skills can you offer?" Serosa'ruth asked, interested in what this young human could do.

Miri placed a finger to her chin in thought. "Uh... well, I'm a cleric of Waukeen. So... That's healing and protection spells. And various others… If you ever encounter undead, I might be of some aid."

"Not bad," Serosa'ruth rubbed his cloth-covered chin, "And are you proficient with any weapons?"

"Well, I prefer to use daggers. I have several of them."

Serosa'ruth nodded, "Well, that sounds good to me. What about you guys?" He turned his head to his party.

"The more the merrier." Ky'itae laughed. Faelar merely grinned and gave the elven male a thumbs-up.

Saeola shrugged. "Even if I said no, majority rules, so why the hells not?"

"Looks like you're in, Miri." Serosa'ruth chuckled.

Miri smiled happily and clapped her hands together lightly in front of her. "Thanks!"

"Sooo... Now dat we're five insteada four, whot do we do next, boss?" Faelar asked. Serosa'ruth scanned the marketplace.

"Find a place that actually sells decent traveling rations."

"In this place, that's kind of like finding a needle in a haystack," Miri admitted. "But I know of a few places myself." She motioned for the group to follow her and led the way.

Faelar glanced at Saeola as they followed, noticing her slight sour expression, "Oi, whot's buggin' ya, dove?"

Saeola gave him a flat look. "Oh, lots of things... You, Miri, that merchant, you, having to walk more, the weather, you... But mostly, Miri. Don't you think it's a little suspicious for her to be acting like this, given her ethnicity? Being raised a certain way and then breaking from them isn't this easy."

"Ah, but I see one li'l problem in dat way o' thinking, dove."

Saeola arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"

Faelar tapped her nose lightly, "You ain't givin' 'er a chance ta rise above such things. Yes, it's hard, but not impossible. Prejudgment doesn't suit you, dove."

"I'm not! I'm just weary about it, that's all. People don't change their ways that easily... No matter what they promise..."

He tapped her nose again, "Ah, not _easily_, but difficult does not equal impossible, dove. Fer a ranger, you seem ta lack insight."

"Insight nothing. Call it learning from experience." She spat.

"Oh-ho. Dis puts a whole new spin on yer 'I-got-a-rod-up-me-arse' attitude. Least it makes sense now."

"Oh, spare me. Like you honestly care why I act the way I do." She rolled her different colored eyes.

"Sure I do! Yer gonna give yerself 'igh blood pressure an' wrinkles at an early age with all dat uptight thinkin'. Why, look, I think I see a wrinkle already formin'!" He poked her cheek, just below her green eye, for emphasis.

Saeola scowled and waved his hands away quickly, blushing lightly. "Go find someone else to bug, will ya!"

"Aw, but yer so easy an' fun ta annoy. Doink." He poked her in the side, a bit closer to her breasts than she probably would've liked.

_THWACK!_

The movement was so swift that even Faelar couldn't have dodged it. Her hand collided with the side of his face and she shuffled away from him angrily, red in the face. "It's called _personal space_!"

The rogue rubbed his reddened cheek with a wide grin, "An' whot would dat be, dove?" Just to push her further, the male half-elf poked her once more, only much higher this time, and quickly dashed after the others before she could smack him again.

A volley of arrows followed his path before shortly being chased by Saeola herself, swearing up a storm at him. The group and the innocent bystanders narrowly dodged thief, arrows and ranger.

"Are they always like that?" Miri asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yuuuppp." Serosa'ruth sighed, rubbing his green forehead in mild irritation while Faelar's laughs echoed in the distance.

"We're running a pool on when those two we finally tie the knot." Ky'itae added in a tone that made the cleric wonder if she was serious or not, "Wanna place any bets?"

Miri scrunched up her face. "Um, maybe later?"

"Yer wasting arrows, dove!" Faelar's voice taunted somewhere ahead of them.

"It'll be worth it when I hit you!" Saeola's voice followed.

"Ya mean 'if' ya 'it me!" This time his sounds came from above, probably somewhere on the buildings.

"Ugh... sometimes I wonder why we never get banned from places." Serosa'ruth sighed again, rubbing his forehead once more.

Saeola screeched in frustration somewhere ahead, either out of arrows or no longer having her target in her sights.

"I wonder this now as well," Miri agreed.

"While those two are engaging in their ever-strange courtship," Ky'itae grinned, "Miri, you said you knew some decent rations-sellers? I think we should probably get that done with and then find a decent inn to spend the night."

Miri chuckled and waved to a nearby stand, stopping just short of it. "This is it. Great stuff for decent prices. I'm not really in need of anything, but you are. Ah... but maybe I'll buy some more arrows for Saeola. Heh."

Serosa'ruth held up a small bag of silver coins, "No need. I call this my 'Missed Faelar Again Arrow Budget.'"

"You must be running low with that one," Miri commented with a laugh.

"I was until we recently cleared out a nearby orc horde. Druids themselves have little need for money, but I tend to keep my party in mind when I plunder monsters' lairs."

Miri chuckled again. "I'll remember to donate to the MFAAB cause next time."

Saeola stomped back to the group moments later, muttering things underneath her breath. "I'll kill him one day, I swear..."

Miri patted her head. "Of course you will."

"Oh, she'll kill him all right," Ky'itae agreed, elbowing the ranger, "Just not in the way she's thinking right now. All that energy's gotta be put to use in other ways." The elven woman grinned, shooting a meaningful and implying look at the half-elf.

Saeola's eye twitched. "I may be out of arrows, but I have my sword. Rocks work too..."

Ky'itae clapped the ranger on the back with a laugh, un-intimidated. "And you just wasted all the energy chasing our resident rogue, and I happen to be wearing armor and jewelry that greatly reduces any sort of damage your sword or rocks may give."

Saeola grumbled something incoherent under her breath and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away in defeat.

"So, whot's on da menu, guys? Well, future menus, I suppose, since dese are rations..." The party jumped in surprise and turned to find Faelar behind the counter, closely examining the food products.

The merchant eyed his booth's location pressed against a wall and closed doors on each side, the large canopy covering the top, then gawked at the rogue in disbelief, "How did you get in my stand?"

Miri looked just as surprised. "Oh... Wow, that was amazing! I never even saw you!" Saeola merely rolled her eyes.

"Den I'm doin' me job." Faelar grinned, hopping over the side door, snatching a small package of rations, and tossing the three silver pieces to the merchant in one swift motion. "Well, now I'm set."

This brought Saeola back to life. "Oh... I need more arrows..."

Miri chuckled. "We got them for you. Rather, Serosa'ruth got them for you. The MFAAB funds, ya know."

Saeola blinked at her. "The what?"

"Nothing."

"..."

"I'll give them to you after we find an inn," the druid cut in, "since I don't think you two should scare the locals anymore than you already have."

Saeola glared at Faelar. "It's _his_ fault..."

"You're the one who shot arrows at him. I'm pretty sure you scared the locals more," Miri pointed out with a nervous laugh.

"Shut up. He deserved it."

"Ta be fair, she slapped me ferst." Faelar pointed his index finger skywards.

"You touched me inappropriately first!" Saeola snarled back.

The rogue grinned widely, "Define inappropriate. I merely poked yer side."

"The second time you poked my CHEST, you pervert! That earns a slap in my book!"

"Oooooh boy," Miri sighed, covering her face in her slender hand.

"But ya didn't slap me dat time." Faelar pointed out. "An' I don't see anything wrong wit chests. Look, I'll poke mine." He poked his pectorals a few times to prove his point, "Whot's da big deal?"

"And thus, half the city erupted in flames as Saeola exploded in a fiery, feminist rage," Serosa'ruth muttered under his breath low enough so only Ky'itae heard him.

Serosa'ruth was close, but not quite. Instead, Saeola's foot collided with Faelar's stomach. "That's A LIE! Say it again and I kick lower!" She screeched.

"Oh, don't do that. You might regret it later," Miri said cheerfully.

"SHUT IT!"

"Damn good leg dis woman's got." Faelar wheezed, bending over briefly to recover his breath, which he did quickly, "But I still don't see da problem, dove. Doink." This time the rogue made no subtlety in poking the ranger's breast, and deftly disappeared into the shopping crowd the moment his finger left her body.

"ARRRGGGHH! That's **_IT_**!" Saeola swiped the new arrows and bolted after him. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

Miri watched them go calmly before dropping a few coins into Serosa'ruth's MFAAB bag.

"Thanks." Serosa'ruth sighed, the arrow vender already handing him two quivers' worth of arrows, "Looks like we might have to increase the budget..."

"By about tenfold," Miri added with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe we should start a new one for property damage."

"Indeed. Good thing Faelar can't use his sorcerer spells here, otherwise we'd have to multiply the budget at least twenty-fold." Ky'itae sighed, though a light smile remained on her lips.

There was a long pause before Miri just laughed. "They're gonna have lots of kids."

"Hopefully not on the road. Which why I've also purchased these." Serosa'ruth held up cassil shrubs in one gloved hand and nararoots in the other. Both were fairly common contraceptive plants -- cassil roots caused temporary male infertility when digested; nararoots, the same, only in women.

Miri giggled and gave him a thumbs-up. "Always a step ahead."

"Of course. I was raised that way."

"A good way to be raised, I suppose... So, should we wait for them? Saeola should be out of arrows soon..."

"Nah. We need to find an inn. They'll catch up. Know any good ones around here, or are you also fairly new to Athkatla?" The druid queried.

Miri shook her head. "I've been here several times, but never to spend the night. But I think I know where we can start looking."

"Lead on, then." Ky'itae motioned in the direction opposite where the two wild half-elves had disappeared to.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Miri did just that. Two inns ended up being full, but another had rooms to spare at a fairly cheap price. Although that might say something for the rooms, but that was yet to be determined. "If this works for you, it works for me. But if you'd rather look around some more, there's a few more places we could try."

"This place is fine as long as we have enough space in one room to separate the love birds during the night, lest they kill each other." Serosa'ruth chuckled.

Miri chuckled also. "Yeah, there should be plenty of room."

"Good. Let's stay here at the... uh..." He looked up at the tavern sign, "Motley Dwarf Inn... Gods, you humans come up with odd names."

Miri laughed. "It's an art." She entered, holding the door for the other two elves before going up to the front desk. After a brief conversation, Miri managed to book two rooms. She returned to the others. "I got us two rooms. So that's three in one room and two in another. I think I can already guess who's staying with who."

Serosa'ruth grinned widely, though his cloth mask covered it, "Ky'itae and I would enjoy your company when we slip into Reverie tonight. And I'm sure we can afford to pay any damages our companions might cause to the inn."

Miri bit her lip. "What's this, another fund? Jeez... On second thought, maybe we should separate them..."

Ky'itae laughed, patting the human on the back, "Oh no, trust me, it's much more amusing this way. Besides, believe it or not, they very rarely cause any damage to the inn, and they don't make noise cuz Faelar is kind enough to place a Silence spell on the room walls so no noise leaks outside. Just don't tell Saeola, I don't think she realizes he does that, otherwise she wouldn't wake up hoarse every morning from yelling at him all night."

Miri laughed. "Never a dull moment here, is it?" The door suddenly flew open and Saeola stormed in, clearly having failed yet again and angry because of it.

"Out of arrows already?" Miri asked with a smirk.

"Shut up."

Faelar jumped down from some unknown perch, landing in front of the ranger. "Aye. Pity dat be, dove. Want me ta filch some coins ta pay fer new ones?"

Saeola's eye twitched angrily, but she said nothing.

Miri cleared her throat and glanced at the two. "We got rooms. Try to behave..."

"Oh, by da look on 'er face, dove, looks like we're gonna be roomin' together once more. Whot fun!" The half-elf rogue clapped his gloved hands together, grinning.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Saeola screeched, waving her arms around wildly in protest. "I'll kill him!"

"If you haven't been able to by now, I seriously doubt you'll succeed tonight," Miri grumbled. "Just take one for the team, will you?"

"How is _THAT_ taking one for the team!"

"_WE_ don't want to room with you when you're like this..."

"Gee, thanks."

"At least I'm honest."

The noise attracted the attention of other patrons, who merely shook their heads at the "uncivilized Northerners and Calishite."

Saeola shot them all a glare before Miri began to drag her toward the rooms. "Hey!" Saeola protested.

"C'mon, you're embarrassing!" The human huffed.

"Well, we should probably eat something before settling down for the night." Ky'itae pointed out just as Faelar's stomach rumbled loudly in hunger. He rubbed his empty stomach while putting another hand behind his head in abashment.

"Eh, yeah... I'm wit' 'Itae on dis one... I need food... slipping away from dove is 'ard work."

Miri stopped halfway up the stairs. "Hm? Ah, good idea. Food would be good. I'm afraid I don't know of any good places to eat, though. I usually have my own."

"Well, it's a tavern." Serosa'ruth motioned to the bar and tables by them, "I'm sure they don't just serve drinks. Most taverns have at least basic food like breads to eat."

Miri glanced over her should. "You can never be sure around a place like this, but it's worth a shot."

Faelar had already ordered a mug of dwarven mead and took his second gulp of his, motioning towards the cleric, "-Or two!" He grinned.

Miri blinked and released Saeola, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh, well, then..." She happily joined Faelar.

"An' what'll ye have, lass?" The rather hefty barkeep queried Miri.

Miri gave him a friendly smile and scratched her chin in thought. "Ah... let's see... How about a Kuraki? I heard those were good."

"Very well, lass." The barkeep slid a mug filled with reddish, frothing liquid towards her. "Two silver, please." He held out his hand for payment.

Miri paid him and took a sip of her drink after letting out a great sigh. It was nice to relax...

- - - - -

Meanwhile, Saeola and gone to the room instead, flopping onto the bed that she had claimed as hers. _Meh... I'm too tired to feel hungry._

A knock on her door brought the half-elf to attention. The wooden barrier opened a crack, revealing Serosa'ruth's cloaked face. "Mind if I come in? I can eat later."

Saeola turned her head to peek one eye at him before her face disappearing back into her pillow. "Sure, come in," was her muffled reply.

The cloaked elf slipped inside, closing the door behind him. He pulled a chair up near the bed and sat on it, chest against the chair's wooden back. He folded his arms atop the chair and rested his chin on his arms. "What's up? Sulking from Faelar's playing earlier?"

Saeola sighed and rolled over onto her back, folding her hands over her stomach. "Bah... He'll get what's coming to him one of these days..."

Serosa'ruth laughed, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement, "So he _is_ annoying you more than ever, eh? Well, if it really vexes you, we won't speak of him further, for now. Firstly, perhaps you might want these--" he handed her the two newest clusters of arrows he'd bought, "-- then perhaps I can prod you a bit. How goes your magic training? Do you still need help with shaping small pieces of rock, or do you wish to move on? There's a small garden out back of the tavern that would serve as a passable training ground... eh, quite literally, actually."

Saeola chuckled, but fell silent as he spoke. She frowned a bit at the ceiling. "No, I can shape small rocks rather well now... but I get easily rusty if I don't practice for a few days." She glanced over at him curiously. "Do _you_ think I'm ready to move on? I honestly can't be sure..." Ever since she had joined with the druid, Serosa'ruth had offered his help and guidance in nature magic, as rangers could cast many similar spells. The elf claimed very limited knowledge on such things, but the ranger found he was a great help and mentor nonetheless.

"Only one way to find out." His kind eyes smiled as he nudged her shoulder, "Come outside with me?"

Saeola made a face, but sat up. "All right, all right... but only for a little bit. I'm tired."

"Fair enough. Follow me downstairs."

Saeola nodded and stood, following him out of the room and outside.

Serosa'ruth led the ranger out into the small and somewhat pitiful garden. Still, to the nature-sensitive elvenkin, it still retained a beauty of its own not seen in many places inside a city. The druid sat himself down, cross-legged, on the dirty ground, handing the ranger a handful of rocks as she seated herself.

"First, a quick practice on these rocks. Then we can move on."

She took them carefully, trying not to spill a single one. "Ah... what should I make?"

"Hm... well, you are in tune with your wolf companion... Try to shape them into a miniature likeness of him. It doesn't have to be detailed, just a basic wolf shape."

Saeola nodded with a grin. "Good idea! In my current mood I might have tried to make a weapon to kill a certain other half-elf... Heheh..." She crouched down and piled the rocks in front of her. A quick work of magic and the rocks had become a small statue of her wolf friend, Irek. She picked up the small item, only about the size of her hand.

Serosa'ruth nodded in quiet approval. "Hmm..." He scanned the ground about them, "There's enough grass and plants here... why don't we work on your Entangle spell next?"

Saeola nodded and placed the statue down, moving away from it. "Ah... instruct me on the spell real quick... I think I have it confused with another one."

"Well..." Serosa'ruth crouched low, near a weed, "You must concentrate on the earth, on the plants. Curl your fingers," he used his own gloved hand in demonstration of the proper position, "and move them in a slow, tugging motion. Concentrate on the plants and imagine them growing, curling, as if living bonds..." He moved his hand and fingers slowly, muttering something in Druidic, and the weeds and grass began to grow, wrapping themselves around his limb's and Saeola's, though their grip was weak. "I did not do a full incantation... that would just kill time right now, but... once you've perfected this spell, it can come quite in handy in battle."

Saeola nodded and did as he instructed, concentrating on the plants and mimicking his motions. The grass coiled up weakly, wrapped around the statue a bit before falling away. Saeola sighed and rubbed her forehead. "It'd be useful if I could do it, you mean..."

"If aid in battle isn't enough of an incentive for you, Saeola, what about the chance to prank our resident prankster if you can successfully pull this off, hm?"

"...Now I'll be practicing this thing all night."

"Oh, I don't think it'll take you that long. Remember what I told you -- the movements of your fingers," He demonstrated once more, "and the visualizations... perhaps adding our rogue to those visions will help you cast a more successful Entanglement."

Saeola nodded and turned back to the still statue, closing her eyes. She did the movements again, picturing the grass extending from the ground. Picturing what she could do to get back at Faelar with it... The grass grew and wrapped tightly around the wolf statue... and abruptly broke it into pieces. She stopped the spell and raised her dark eyebrows. "Uh... I meant nothing by that, I swear. I don't want to really kill him. Honest..." Okay, maybe she really did.

Serosa'ruth laughed, clapping the ranger on the back, "Well done! Now, what say you to a little bit of fun with this spell, eh?" He winked.

Saeola grinned wickedly and clapped her hands together. "Yes, let's."

"I suggest using those bushes as your hiding place --" Serosa'ruth pointed, "And be sure to aim the spell far enough away so you don't entangle yourself. I'll be back in a few moments."

"Okay, good id--Hey wait." She gave Serosa'ruth a suspicious look. "You're usually against me... What's with this all of a sudden?"

Serosa'ruth chuckled, "I'm never against you, nor against Faelar. You're both my friends, and I like to have fun with each of you. It's just that Faelar's usually more willing to be playful... but I figured you'd be happy to have fun at the rogue's expense, so I thought, 'why not'?"

Saeola grinned. "Much appreciated." She then hurried away and disappeared into the bushes.

Serosa'ruth nodded and made his way back into the bar, where Faelar enjoyed himself to a second tankard of dwarven ale, seemingly unaffected by the strong alcohol concentration. The half-elf drank and joked with his two female companions, slightly surprised when Serosa'ruth tapped him on the shoulder.

"'Ey Boss. Whot's up?" he inquired.

"I gotta show you something outside, Faelar." Serosa'ruth insisted, "I think you'd be interested. Come on."

Slightly wary, but not about to disobey his party leader, Faelar hopped off his stool and followed the druid outside.

"Over there, near the middle of the garden. Go there and look up. It's quite fascinating." The thief shot his companion a suspicious glance.

"Aye, Boss. Whoteva ya say..." The thief cautiously tread out into the garden and looked up. "...I don't see anythin'..."

Saeola waited silently and perked up when she saw Faelar. She tried not to give herself away with a laugh as she quickly did the motion and the spell was cast. The grass grew, twisting up along the other half-elf's legs and waist.

Faelar snapped to attention and looked down at his legs, yelping in surprise. "Oi, whot's dis?" As the plants entangled him more and crawled up his body, binding him tightly, he sighed, "Why do I get da feelin' dove 'ad somethin ta do with dis?"

Saeola poked her head up from the bushes and waved with a grin. "You catch on quickly."

Faelar somehow managed to give the ranger a thumbs-up, even as the grass constricted him further, "Ya finally got me one, dove. Congrats, I'm so proud!"

Saeola stuck her tongue out at him. "It won't be the last time, either."

"I look forward to da next times, dove! _Now_ yer provin' ta be a challege. I like dat... ow. Bit tight, aren't dese?"

She moved away from the bushes to stand in sight, hands on her hips and grinning happily. "I crushed a statue with them earlier."

"Oh, lovely... Eh, me 'opes ya don't intend ta crush me?"

"It's tempting..."

"'Ey, rule number one o' good pranks, dove -- dey aren't truly 'armful. Nasty pranks go against my religion. Quite literally." Whether or not he intended the comment as a joke, it was true -- the rogue worshipped Erevan Ilesere, elven god of mischief and pranks; ill-natured pranks actually angered the fey deity.

Saeola rolled her eyes. "You really think I'd do it? Jeez, I know I come off as a bitch, but I'm no murderer." The grass relaxed and snaked away from him, disappearing back into the ground.

"No, not really." Faelar answered honestly, before quickly levitating himself off the ground, "I jus' wanted ya ta get rid of da grass so I could escape. Thanks, dove!" With a wave and a grin, the rogue zipped back into the tavern, keeping his feet a few dozen inches above the ground.

Saeola bent her arms behind her head and watched him leave with a flat stare. "Jeez. Even when _I_ win... _he_ wins."

Serosa'ruth rubbed his neck -- he had half expected this outcome, though he did intend to help Saeola this time, "Hmm... Perhaps we should work on out-witting him as well."

Saeola gave him a tired glance. "If I had any wit, that might work."

"Oh, I dunno, Ms. Anauroch. You're plenty witty, you just need to hone on using it better against someone who's all but mastered it."

Saeola laughed. "But in the end, he still wins. Ah, well. Like I said, he'll get what's coming to him."

"We'll practice at it. For now, why don't we retire? It's getting dark."

"Gladly. I'm beat."

"I'm sure the other women are too, if not hungover... I'm not sure how strong Miri's alcohol tolerance is... I still can't believe Faelar can drink dwarven ale without a trace of alcoholic disabilities."

"Well, we'll find out, won't we?" Saeola led the way back inside.

- - - - -

When the nature duo entered, Miri turned and waved at them. She seemed fine, but that was probably because she had only had one drink. "Hey. Where'd you two go?"

"Oh, just practicing some nature spells and having fun." Serosa'ruth answered, then turned to Ky'itae, whose cheeks were somewhat flushed. "Oh, great. Ky, you didn't try the dwarven mead again, did you?"

"Faelar dared me," the elven fighter retorted, her words tainted by only a very slight slurring. "And this woman never backs down from a dare, dammit!" She slammed her mug down on the counter to emphasize her point, before looking up at the ranger and druid, "Hey, I didn't know there was four of ya. Who're the new guys?"

Saeola raised her eyebrows. "Er... Wow, I never knew you'd be one to get drunk, Ky'itae."

"It's kinda scary when she does," Miri added.

"Yeah. There's no way I'm tellin' her, 'you've had enough.'" The barkeep added, raising a red eyebrow at the moon elf.

"You don't know the half of it... and I've seen her much more drunk than this before..." Serosa'ruth sighed. "C'mon Ky, let's get you to bed." He pulled her up off her stool, then she suddenly slapped his hands away, her cheeks a bright pink from liquor.

"Hey! Not on the first date, buster! Whatcha think I am, some sleazy strumpet?" She stumbled, Serosa'ruth catching her in his free arm, using the other to rub his forehead in irritation.

"Not this again..."

Saeola snickered and almost encouraged Ky'itae. Almost. Instead she approached her to offer Serosa'ruth some help. "Uh… C'mon, Ky'itae. Time to sleep..."

"Sleep?" The word slurred in Ky'itae thick-feeling tongue, "Silly girl, elves don't sleep... we... meda...um... meduh...didaph? Didate?"

"Meditate." Serosa'ruth corrected with a sigh.

"No, I kinda like 'didate'," Saeola snickered.

"Heheh. Didate. Didate. Dat's a funny word." Ky'itae giggled. "Didate. Didate. Didate."

"Thanks, now we'll never get her to shut up," Miri grumbled, glaring at Saeola.

"Hey, I think it's a funny word too." The ranger defended herself.

"You're not helping here!" The cleric sighed in irritation.

"Ya know, you guys are great pals," Ky'itae muttered, nearly stumbling on the stairs, even with aid, "All... uh..." her brown eyes scanned in counting, "All six of you!"

"There's three of us, dear," Miri reminded her with a sigh.

"Really? Where?" Ky'itae turned her head and tripped on the stairs, laughing as the others picked her back up, "Heheeeehhh... Silly humans and their crazy constructions."

"They're... just... stairs..." Serosa'ruth sighed, his light green eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. One seemed to be twitching.

"Careful, they bite," Saeola snickered.

"Saeola, you're not helping!" Miri snapped, glaring at her.

"You think it's funny now, but wait until you have to room with her one night when she's drunk and she wakes you up screaming, 'snipper-doo!'" Serosa'ruth grumbled. Saeola stared at him in disbelief and said nothing more.

"Whot's a 'snipper-doo'?" Faelar, peeking around a corner and apparently hearing everything, asked.

"You tell me." The druid sighed, half-dragging Ky'itae into their room with Miri.

Saeola smirked as she entered the opposite room. "Sounds like she wants to neuter you, Serosa'ruth, if you ask me."

The druid shrugged, unaffected, "I think she attempted that the last time she was heavily drunk. Either that, or she thought something was attacking my crotch. Not sure which."

This sent Saeola into a fit of hysterical laugher from her room and Miri tried hard not to laugh herself.

"Laugh all you want, but imagine waking up to someone trying to slice your breasts off with a bastard sword." The druid grumbled.

Saeola, however, was too busy laughing to hear.

"Ehh... not sure I find dat funny, an' dat's saying somethin'." Faelar glanced at Ky'itae warily before entering his room with Saeola and closing the door behind him. "Really, ya shouldn't find seperatin' a man from 'is two best buds funny."

Saeola continued to laugh helplessly into her pillow, speaking in a muffled voice between her laughing. "It was just the way he said it..."

"How come 'e makes ya laugh so easily when 'e's not even tryin'? 'S not fair, if ya ask me." It was hard to tell if the thief was being serious or not as he discarded his shirt and belt before plopping onto his bed in his trousers.

Saeola blinked and peeked up from her pillow, watching him with an expression half hidden by the pillow. Where had _that_ come from? But... He was just kidding, right? She rolled over onto her back and folded her arms behind her head, smiling slightly. "Nah. You make me laugh sometimes," She admitted.

"Well, den I'm doin' 'alf me job." Faelar chuckled, pulling his boots off. He yawned and stretched, then examined the odd black tattoo on his left bicep, checking it for any scars or marks he may have recently received in battle or running from Saeola.

Saeola glanced at him curiously with a raised eyebrow. "Half your job? What's the other half?"

Faelar looked up from his tribal tattoo at her and grinned, "Ta annoy you, o' course."

Saeola gave him a flat look and glanced back up at the ceiling. "Of course..."

"Obviously, I'd say I do a good job on dat 'alf. Maybe I should try 'arder on da other 'alf, though, eh?"

"It'd be much appreciated. Heh. Anyway.. what's that mark?"

"Hm? Whot? Dis?" He pointed at his tattoo.

Saeola nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, perhaps ya already know dis, considerin' ya've got a wild elf parent like I do, but... Tattoos are quite common among wild elves, but since dey're pretty feral an' not at all literate, dey usually 'ave symbols an' images ta represent animals, objects, an' concepts, instead 'o words. Tattooin' symbols dat represent you or yer ancestry are quite common. Me da painted a lot of such symbols fer me when I was jus' a li'l bloke. Dis 'ere symbol's da same one 'e 'ad on 'is bicep, 'cept on 'is right, insteada left. It represents a wolf, or wild dog. Both mean wild or free spirit."

"I'm familiar with the wolf. One is a good friend of mine." She rolled over on her side to look at him. "But that's cool. I never got a tattoo like that, although I probably should have."

"Well, dove, I kept many o' my da's paintings, an' I remember da meanings. If ya find one ya like, I'm sure we can find a good tattoo artist ta give ya one."

Saeola thought about this a moment then shrugged helplessly. "I'll think about it, thanks."

"No prob, dove." He yawned again, pulling the covers over his half-naked form, "Bah... itchy. Don't dese inns eva wash deir sheets? Whoteva, g'night." He blew out the candle by his bedside and settled in.

"G'night." Saeola rolled over herself and sunk under the weight of the blankets, burying her face into the pillow.

The two half-elves were about to drift off when they heard a crash from the room next door, shortly followed by Serosa'ruth muffled cries, "Ky'itae, you're not supposed to stand on tha--AGH! DON'T JUMP ON--"

**_THUMP. _**

Faelar bit his lip to resist laughing, but ended up snorting in hushed chuckling anyway.

Saeola was glad her face was buried in her pillow to muffle her laughter.

"An' 'e worries about _us_ causing a stir at night, eh dove?" Faelar snickered. "Least I can 'old my liquor..."

"True enough. I hope they don't plan to be this noisy all night..."

"Eh, I can prolly find a spell ta block out da noise from deir room if it keeps goin'."

"That would be much appreciated," Saeola muttered sleepily, starting to drift off again.

On the verge of sleep himself, Faelar spoke one more time, "'Ey, dove?"

"Hmmm?"

Grinning even though she couldn't see him, he simply muttered, "Doink." And turned over.

If Saeola had the energy to get angry, she would have. But not now. She merely rolled her eyes mentally before falling asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The two half-elves woke first the next morning. Without bothering to put his shirt back on, Faelar went out and knocked on the others' door. "Oi, you blokes up yet?" The door opened a few moments later, revealing a tired and disheveled Ky'itae, clad only in her reddish-brown tunic. The red-eyed elf held her forehead and groaned.

Ugh... not so loud... my head's throbbing."

"Serves you right for drinking too much again." Serosa'ruth, fully clothed scolded from behind her.

With Faelar out of the room, Saeola took this chance to dress. She then slipped out, chuckling to herself as she passed Ky'itae. "I heard if you drink a raw egg, it helps," She said before disappearing down the stairs.

- - - - -

The ranger stepped outside, taking a deep breath of the chilly morning air. It made her smile and then she blinked, noticing a familiar four-legged creature sniffing around.

"Irek?" The wolf's ears twitched and his head perked up, ears twisting forward. The white wolf yipped happily and, with his tail wagging, trotted over to her. Saeola knelt down to greet her friend with a smile, scratching him behind his ear. "Jeez, what are you doing here anyway...?" She muttered more to herself.

"'Ello, who's dis 'ere li'l fella?" Faelar, still clad only in his trousers, appeared next to Saeola, crouching down to look closer at Irek. "Dis dat wolf friend o' yours ya mentioned last night, dove?"

Saeola blinked in surprised. When had he...? She shook her head slightly before she nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah. This is Irek." The white wolf's ears perked up at his name and he titled his head to one side slightly, liquid golden eyes on the stranger now.

"Well, 'ello dere, Irek. Whot a 'andsome wolf ya are, ey? Guess ya could say I gots a wolf friend 'o me own," he pointed to his tattoo with a chuckle, then scratched Irek behind the ear, "Not a bad choice fer a companion."

Irek stared at him curiously, always careful of strangers. However, his scent mingled with Saeola's which meant she was around him a lot, thus he concluded it was safe and that this man was a friend. His tail wagged happily as his ear was scratched.

Saeola chuckled. "Not at all. Although I have no idea why he's here. Crazy animal."

"Well, actually dove, da 'companion' comment was ta Irek." Faelar grinned, "but 'e's an awesome bloke, too. Ain'tcha, boy?" Faelar gently ruffled Irek's fur and scratched under the wolf's chin.

Saeola blushed lightly at his comment and Irek barked happily, tail wagging furiously. His golden eyes then turned to her and he yipped. Saeola glared at him in response. "Shut it!" Irek made a noise and one could swear he was laughing.

Knowing quite well rangers and druids could communicate with animals, Faelar grinned and queried, "Whot's yer furry friend 'ave ta say, dove?"

Saeola grumbled. "Oh, nothing..." Irek snorted in disagreement and sat down.

"I could tell you, if Irek is willing to repeat himself." Serosa'ruth approached the three, a stumbling and cursing Ky'itae leaning against him for balance.

Saeola glanced at Serosa'ruth sharply, then gave a very evil glare to her wolf friend. "Don't you even--" Irek began to yip only for it to turn into a yelp as Saeola waved her hands at him in annoyance. "It's none of their business, you mutt! And it's none of _yours_ either!" Irek dodged and danced around her, causing her to stumble when he got close to her feet. He barked as if he was laughing.

Serosa'ruth chuckled and crouched down, Ky'itae nearly falling over from his change in stance. He whistled lowly, calling the wolf to him. His eyes showed his smile that accompanied his next chortle. "Well, you're a lively and talkative one, aren't you?"

_But of course!_ Irek replied happily, tail wagging as he wandered over to the druid _I have a lot to say!_

"Yeah, but it's all useless stuff and you know it," Saeola grumbled. Irek merely snorted.

Serosa'ruth laughed and rubbed the area between the wolf's ears affectionately, Don't mind her, though I doubt I need to tell you that. What have you to say, my lupine friend?

_Her face changes colors when she's around that other half-elf. It's rather funny._

Saeola's eye twitched. "Yer askin' for it..."

_Oh really?__ I think I've noticed it too. It gets redder, doesn't it?_ Serosa'ruth winked.

"SEROSA'RUTH!"

He grinned at Saeola's distress, then lowered his tone so only the wolf could hear and understand, _Tell me, Irek, does her scent change at all as well?_ the elven druid snickered.

_Hm?__ I didn't notice..._

The druid lowered his tone even more, _Well, take note around 'em, eh? Tell me next time we chat if you notice anything, all right? _Serosa'ruth gave the wolf another pat before easily dodging a rock flung at him by Saeola. Irek seemed to snicker.

"So you show up to bother me. Wonderful. A furry version of Faelar."

"Whot more coulda ya ask for then, dove?" The rogue grinned.

"Shut up..."

"Well, anyway, now that we've met Saeola's furry companion," Serosa'ruth turned serious, "we should probably get some breakfast... and Miss Keg here," the druid nudged Ky'itae, who grumbled, "can get some raw eggs to drink and some food in her stomach to help with the hangover."

"Can't you just cast a damn healing spell or something?" The elven maid growled in a very wolflike tone. Serosa'ruth snorted.

"If I do, you won't learn anything."

Saeola chuckled at Ky'itae and patted her sympathetically on the back. "Are you sure that headache isn't from when you tried to fly?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Hey, the floor looked farther away when I tried it!" Ky'itae huffed. "I didn't have time to prepare!" Serosa'ruth snorted again, but withheld a comment.

_...She isn't serious, is she?_ Saeola coughed and patted Irek's head before heading inside. Irek's eyes dropped in disappoint, but he sat and waited regardless.

Ky'itae, being a lythari and understanding wolves perfectly well, stuck her tongue out at Irek before tripping over her own feet and tumbling to the ground. "Gods dammit!"

_Hehehehe... watch that first step._

_Shut-up!_ To Faelar, only canine growls emitted from the young elf's mouth, though he could surmise her meaning well enough.

Irek gave her innocent puppy dog eyes.

Ky'itae sighed, rubbing her forehead and patting the wolf with the other hand, _Don't mind me, brother. Hangovers make me cranky._

Irek's tail wagged happily, ears perking up. _No worries._

_Well, I'm pretty sure the tavern doesn't allow animals inside, so... want me to bring out something for you? ...After I take something for this headache, that is._ She scrunched her face at the pounding in her head.

Irek's tail wagged harder. _Oooo, yes please! Good for nothing -- also known as "Saeola" -- didn't even bother to ask. Hmph. _

Inside, Saeola sneezed. She scratched her nose and made a face.

Ky'itae laughed, giving Irek one more pat on the head. _You're all right, brother. I'll be back in a few._ Slowly rising herself, the elven woman trudged indoors, keeping her eyes half-concentrated on her feet, to avoid stumbling over them again.

Miri was now awake at this point and she blinked when she saw Ky'itae before she chuckled lightly. "Heh... all that booze caught up with you, huh?"

"Meh." The elf fighter grumbled, using the bar counter as support while she walked. Plopping into a seat next to Serosa'ruth at a table, Ky'itae folded her arms and dropped her head into them, pausing a moment before she remembered that a barmaid awaited her order. Still burying her face, Ky'itae raised one hand up, "Raw eggs in a glass. Ugh."

Miri made a face at the terrible drink the elf was now forced to take and shook her head lightly. "Have we learned a lesson yet?"

"_Na linn, bhen! Amin shasti i' leshere."_ Ky'itae grumbled, Faelar bristling at her comment.

"'Ey now, Itae, it ain't me fault just coz ya couldn't hold yer booze."

"_Llie__ verye amin, llie thar._" Ky'itae retorted.

Miri chuckled and edged out of the conversation, clearly not understanding Elven. She gathered her things as Saeola came downstairs, her own things in hand. "Are we leavin' or what?" She demanded.

"You really should eat something first, you know." Serosa'ruth suggested, though no one had seen the druid himself eat yet that day.

"_Mankoi__ desha eilaie?__ Irek pelekt ei sia tys arinyan?"_ Ky'itae looked up, smirking at the half-elf ranger.

Saeola glared at the elf woman dangerously. "_Neh__. Ent uum n' llie shan eller vee' eithel_."

"_Mankoi?__ Ta naa tyalie nae aisorari llie_." Ky'itae grinned.

Saeola snarled. "So I've been told..."

"All right, that's enough you two." Serosa'ruth sighed, pulling Saeola into a chair and shoving over his food to her while pushing Ky'itae's raw egg drink over to the elven woman. "Eat and drink up, now." He sent them both a rather dangerous look. Saeola grumbled something inaudible but complied, falling silent as she began to eat while Ky'itae did the same.

"So Boss," Faelar snatched a piece of bread from Saeola's plate, still not dressed, "Where we 'eadin' next?"

"Further south, probably by the Small Teeth Mountains." Serosa'ruth replied, sitting between Saeola and Ky'itae.

Saeola shot the other half-elf an evil glare while Miri gave Serosa'ruth a curious look. "What's there?" She asked.

Serosa'ruth shrugged, "Well, there's not much going on here, and I've heard of orc problems further south. Orcs tend to live in mountain ranges, so the Small Teeth are probably a good place to start. If there's one thing Ky'itae can do, even when drunk--"

"--It's cleaving through damn orcs!" The moon elf pounded her fist on the table, then regretted it as her head began throbbing again. "Aguh!"

Saeola snickered as Miri patted Ky'itae on the shoulder. "Yeah, but I don't think the hangovers are worth it," Saeola said.

"Meh." Ky'itae rose from her seat, grabbing a small piece of ham or somesuch to take out to Irek.

"Well, let's get our stuff and go." Serosa'ruth rose from his seat, tossing a few coins on the table for the barmaid.

"'Ey, dontcha need food too, Boss?" Faelar inquired, chewing on his nicked bread.

"I already ate." The druid disappeared up the stairs.

"...'Ow does 'e do dat? I've yet ta see 'is full face or eating or... well, most anythin' normal." The rogue pondered aloud.

Miri followed without a word. Saeola scratched the back of her head, sporting the same confused look on her face as Faelar. "Dunno," She replied. "But I'd sure like to know."

"Only if he wants you to find out." Ky'itae chuckled, returning from feeding Irek, patting Saeola on the back. "C'mon, let's go. I need to get my armor on, and I might need your help. I'm still seeing double on occasion." The moon elf frowned.

Saeola chuckled at her comment and nodded, following the elf back to the room. She frowned slightly at her back. _Yes, but... don't **you** get curious too?_

"Methinks our elven friend already knows more about da Boss dan just 'is face," As if reading her mind, Faelar commented and came up behind Saeola. "I mean... 'Ow long did dey travel before dey met you? A year? Plenty 'o time fer stuff ta 'appen."

Saeola glanced at him with her eyes, but did not turn her head. "That's true... Still, I've been traveling with them for awhile myself… Five months now, or close to it. Plus it seems like such a big secret that even a year wouldn't be enough."

"I dunno dove, I've traveled with 'em fer a while now, too, but eva notice dem around each other? They're like da best o' buds. I wouldn't put it past Itae findin' out whot da Boss is... though I'm sure she ain't gonna tell us." The thief shrugged, walking up the stairs. "In any case, I'm gonna put da rest 'o me gear on. See ya, dove."

Saeola waved him off half-heartedly, too absorbed in her thoughts as she disappeared into the room to help Ky'itae. _Maybe... But why can't he trust us...?_


	12. Chapter 12

**_Holly-chan's Notes_**_: GWSdragon, thanks for pointing that out about the animal dialogue; I actually DID have a way to tell it apart from the rest of the text, but it seems Fanfiction-Net has screwed me over again and removed the brackets I used. Ugh. I've changed that so the animal dialogue parts are in italics – not something I wanted to do, since I do thoughts in italics, but it seems FF-net likes to remove most brackets and what I normally use for such things, so there you go. If anyone else discovers something like that, especially if it's due to Fanfiction messing up the formatting, please, let me know._

****

**Chapter 12**

The party walked through a rocky path not but a mile from the nearest mountain path. Even late into the year, the sun burned down brightly on the small band of adventurers. Two tendays had passed since their visit to Athkatla, and Irek had wandered off on his own a few days ago.

"Ugh. I think maybe dis is too far south fer even me." Faelar sighed, "...Though... I think I might've been born further down Faerûn dan dis. Boss, don'tcha get hot in dat getup?"

"Nope." Serosa'ruth casually replied.

Saeola grumbled in agreement, tugging at her shirt collar in annoyance. She _hated_ the heat. Truly, honest-to-gods hated it.

"It's not that bad," Miri said, earning a glare from the other party members. She shrugged. "What? It isn't..."

"Eh, whoteva, crazy Calishite." Faelar rolled his eyes, though his tone indicated jest. "So... whot's da next big landmark on our path?"

"The city of Brost is still a ways southeast of us. My guess is we'll find a small town or village along the way there." Serosa'ruth answered, looking at the scenery around them, "Perhaps even sooner. Much of this land has been cleared for some time, a sign of nearby civilization."

Miri shrugged as Saeola sighed in relief. "Finally," The half-elf muttered.

"'Ey, dat's my line," Faelar grinned, "Ain't ya supposed ta be a ranger, dove? Thought you blokes loved nature ova civilization any day."

"Oh, sure, of course I love nature 'n all. It's the heat I hate. Feels like the sun is sitting on my frickin' shoulder..."

"It really isn't that bad," Miri insisted.

"Shut it."

"Eh, con't blame ya for dat one." Faelar agreed with the ranger, pulling at his sleeves, "Me damn leather's stickin' ta me skin. Bleh."

"Try wearing metal armor, even if it _is_ only a breastplate." Ky'itae grumbled.

"Jeez, you guys would die if you ever went to where I'm from," Miri chuckled. "Or maybe I'd die first from all the complaining."

"I told you to shut it... Ah, screw you. It's too damn hot to argue..."

"Hm... Looks like I was right. There's a town ahead." Serosa'ruth pointed. "Perhaps we should see if they have a local tavern and get out of the heat in there."

Saeola nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's."

The group soon came upon the town's fairly large wooden gates. A sign to the right read, "Blasingdell" and next to it stood a single, solitary guard, who eyed the approaching band.

"Got any particular business in Blasingdell?" He asked gruffly, pushing up his helm.

"Just a few adventurers passing through." Serosa'ruth replied politely. The guard nodded, motioning them towards the gate.

"Go ahead, then. They're unlocked. While you're here, maybe you can do something about the damn orcs."

Saeola moved to pass him without a word, arms bent behind her head and a flat look on her face. Miri stopped near the guard, giving him an inquisitive look. "Orcs?"

"Ask around, the townsfolk can tell you more than I can." The human pulled his helmet back down to help shade his eyes from the midday light.

"Ah... yes, all right. Thank you." Miri bowed politely to him before hurrying after the others.

Ky'itae looked around the town with a noted interest, "Huh. Pretty blended for a small town. Despite all the humans, I see a fair amount of halflings and elves here... oh, and is that a half-orc?"

"'Ey, look dove!" Faelar elbowed Saeola in the ribs lightly, "A couple 'o 'alf-elves are 'ere too. Don't see much of dem in towns, either. ...Eh, I don't see any wit wild elf blood in their veins. Guess it's still jus' you an' me on dat note, dove." The rogue grinned, scanning the crowd and buildings for anything interesting.

Saeola coughed at the sudden jab in the ribs and rubbed the new sore spot with a glare, but her eyes glanced to where he pointed. "Yes, that's a rare sight," She muttered, giving him a nasty look at his last comment.

"Wow! I've never seen one place with so many different races before," Miri said, eyes widening as she scanned the area.

"Well, one this small, at least," Ky'itae corrected, "Remember Athkatla? It was much more mixed than here, but that was a big city. Towns are usually more dominantly human, at least in this region, to my knowledge."

"Well, there's a tavern over there." Serosa'ruth pointed a gloved hand at a wooden sign depicting a griffin wrapped around the golden words, "The Griffin's Nest Inn."

"I'm there!" Saeola said quickly, hurrying toward it without a second glance.

"I'll meet you there shortly. I'm curious about the orcs the guard mentioned and I want to ask someone," Miri said.

"Indeed. I'll go with Mi-- hold on, what's that?" Serosa'ruth paused, his keen ears picking up the faint sound of a mandolin. He followed the sound out of curiosity and soon found a small crowd gathered around a performer standing upon a large rock. With dusky skin and bright red hair, the bard strummed his stringed instrument, shifting his weight from foot to booted foot as he played. After a moment, the young, somewhat hairy-faced human began to sing in a medium-ranged voice.

_" There__ once was an odd dwarf_

_Who tired of his time in a cave,"_

The bard rhymed, smiling at some of the chuckling dwarves in his audience, amused by the thought of any dwarvenkin disliking caves,

_"And chose to live by a wharf_

_One day along came a wave_

_And swept the dwarf into the bay_

_Soon he washed into a cave,"_

This brought a few more snickers from the crowd before the musician continued,

_"'Ye gods!' the dwarf cried_

_'I kin ne'er escape this grave!'"_

More strumming on the mandolin,

_"Then in came the tide_

_And swept the dwarf back away_

_Where he is now none can say,"_

The bard paused his voice and his music, then suddenly finished with a final strike of his chords,

_"… …_

_Though I'm sure he's glad_

_To be free of the caves!"_

His audience laughed and applauded, to which the bard bowed, "Thank ye, good citizens of Blasingdell. If you wish to hear more, I shall be in the Griffin's Nest Inn tonight. Tips are appreciated, but not required." With that, the human hopped down to sit upon the rock, slipping his instrument across his back.

Miri listened curiously and watched, head tilting slightly to the side. "A bard?"

"Oi, bard guy!" Saeola suddenly called out to him with a grin, coming over. "That really sucked." However, she tossed him two silver coins anyway with the flick of her wrist, still grinning teasingly.

The bard smiled, nodded his head at the ranger, "Perhaps, milady, but it makes a living. Ever since the rest of my party died in the mountains, I've been a bit hard up for coin, so the patronage is greatly appreciated."

Saeola frowned, bending her arms behind her head. "Jeez... I'm sorry about that..."

The bard laughed somewhat grimly, though still tinged it with mirth, "Trust me, they're better off where they are now, rather than prisoners of some orcs or something worse. Celdern Daystorm's the name, milady. And you are?"

"Saeola, mister." She lowered her arms, dropping her hands to her hips. "The orcs again... Hey, what's this about orcs anyway?"

"Ah... the orcs..." Celdern sighed, scratching his small beard, "Well, the lands north around Blasingdell have been suffering some pretty bad orc pillaging. Recently, we've discovered their lair's located in a hill some days' walk from here, called Stone Tooth. The mayor's paying anyone twenty-five gold per orc head brought back. Couple of folks have tried, but most don't find anything or don't return."

Saeola scratched her chin in thought. "Huh... interesting. Sounds like our kinda mission!"

Celdern held up his hand to halt the ranger's thoughts, "I'd be careful if I were you, Saeola -- that's where I lost my party -- Though... We weren't really there for the orcs."

Saeola arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh? What were you there for?"

The bard slowly smiled mysteriously, pulling a piece of paper out from his vest. Celdern unrolled it and showed the half-elf its contents, "It's a map pointing to the location of a secret dwarven stronghold -- Khundrukar. It's local legend, and it's been empty for quite some time... at least a century or two. Any folk 'round here could tell you of its first and only king, the dwarven master smith, Durgeddin. But I can save you the trouble of asking around and give you more info, as I've been to the entrance of the stronghold myself. I'll gladly tell you... for a small, favor." At the ranger's glare, he quickly added, "Nothing of inappropriate or perverted nature, my lady. I assure you."

Saeola leaned forward a bit, hands still on her hips as her eyes scanned over the map. She then glanced at him. "What's the favor?" She asked, although she had a feeling she knew what it might be.

"I can tell you're not alone, and you're already interested in what I have to say -- all of you, though you speak to me not." He glanced at Serosa'ruth and the others, "Take me with you to Khundrukar. My previous band may not have gotten far, true, but I've still seen deeper into Stone Tooth than anyone else in this town. I can guide you much of the way there from here on just memory alone -- of course, the map can tell you that, but it won't tell you much of the stronghold itself. That, I can help you with, at least a little bit. Besides, I don't see any arcane spellcasters among your numbers -- correct me if I'm wrong -- but I'm sure some of my bardic abilities could prove handy. I'm also decent with a scimitar."

Saeola grinned and rubbed her nose. "Ha! I knew you'd ask that. 'Tis fine with me, but I think it's up to our leader here." She glanced over at the druid expectantly.

"Well... I dabble a bit in da Art," Faelar spoke up, "But a rogue's more 'o whot I excel at. Boss, I don't think bringing 'im along would be a bad idea." He too looked over at their party leader for an answer.

"I'm in agreement with the half-elves," Serosa'ruth nodded, glancing at the other two woman, "Any objections?"

"Well... one more human -- and a male, at that -- would balance out the party's race and gender demographic." Ky'itae observed with a grin.

Saeola snickered at Ky'itae's words. "That was a bit sexist. Unless you meant what I think you meant." She winked kiddingly.

Miri, however, was silent. Her eyes on her hands as her finger linked and unlinked together. "He is... Tethyrian. I, ah... ..."

Celdern's eyes narrowed slightly, "Oh, and what's wrong with that, Calishite?"

Miri bristled at him, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Everything."

Celdern's emerald green eyes narrowed more, but he wisely withheld many of the comments he was tempted to make, "Well, I'm sure you're all _lovely _company, but I did promise my audience another performance at the inn tonight. Besides, as I said, Stone Tooth is a few days' journey from here, so we're probably better off leaving tomorrow morning."

"Ah, we were planning to stay for the night anyway to escape the heat," Saeola said, eyeing Miri, who was fuming now.

"True enough," Serosa'ruth agreed, looking around the town, handing a small bag of coin to Ky'itae, "Check us in at the Griffin's Nest... I'm going to look around town to restock and see if they have anything interesting to sell aside from the essentials."

"I'll go with you," Miri blurted quickly. Saeola stared at her, but chose not to comment as she motioned for Celdern to follow her, Ky'itae and Faelar with a friendly wave.

- - - - -

As the party split up, Serosa'ruth and Miri wove through the dirt streets in relative silence for a few moments. "So... Miri, what was that about?"

"It was nothing," Miri insisted in a quiet mutter, glancing away. She felt like a hypocrite. She tried so hard not to think in the ways of her up bringing, yet she found she could not bring herself to like Tethyrians.

"Didn't seem like 'nothing' to me." Serosa'ruth commented in a neutral tone, "... Miri, I grew up in an extremely prideful and prejudiced society. I know it can be difficult to get over a mindset you were raised in, but... It would do well to try your hardest, no?"

Miri glanced over at him curiously at his words, cocking her head slightly to one side. "_You_? That seems so... unlikely. And… Excuse me, that was rude." She bowed in apology before she straightened, frowning slightly. "Yes... I am trying..."

"And that's where it counts. If you truly want to change, you will. It will take time, but you're a strong woman. You'll persevere."

She smiled slightly. "Ah... Thank you. I... hope so."

"Well, now since we're here... Think we should restock on the MFAAB? They've been pretty good the last tenday, but, just to be on the safe side... What say you?"

Miri nodded. "Yes! That's a good idea, especially if we might be heading into a dangerous area tomorrow."

The druid nodded, then chuckled before adding, "Think we should check if they also have cassil shrubs and nararoots? Just in case? It's difficult to tell with those two... The ones I have probably won't last much longer in storage."

Miri laughed. "You're kidding? You really think they'd... I mean, they flirt and all like that, but..." She blushed and shrugged helplessly. "Don't ask _ME_..."

Serosa'ruth laughed and lightly elbowed the young cleric, "It was a joke... but as I say, better to be prepared, nonetheless."

Miri chuckled, clasping her hands in front of her and nodded. "Y-Yes, this is true. Hehehe..."

"Are all you humans this prudish about sexuality?" Serosa'ruth half-teased, half-asked.

Miri blushed and looked away. "N-No. I'm shy... I mean...! Ah... stop teasing me..." She pouted.

The druid laughed again, shaking his head, "Silly humans... c'mon, let's get some food -- oh look, melons and bananas." If the black cloth wasn't covering his lower face, Miri would've seen the wicked grin on the elf's lips. Obviously, he wasn't quite through with teasing her yet as he pointed to the fruit stand.

Miri blushed terribly and thwacked him on the back of his head.

Serosa'ruth snorted in humor one last time before turning serious again. "Right... lessee... They got a decent smith around here? My blades could use sharpening..."

Miri frantically rubbed her cheeks to tame the blush on her face before glancing at him. "I don't know. Probably..."

"How are your daggers doing? They dulled or they still keen?" Odd how not even a minute ago this druid had been making perverted fruit jokes, and before that, seriously conversing about prejudiced upbringing... elves were so strange.

"Ah... they could always use sharpening," Miri replied. Only two tendays of traveling and already she liked this man. He could be wonderfully humorous and then deadly serious in one sweep. It was a perfect balance.

"Hm. I see the smithy there. Give me your daggers and I'll get them sharpened for you. You can shop for food and drink while I do that."

Miri smiled and did as told, handing the weapons to him. "Thanks! I'll be quick!" She then turned on her heel and headed off.

The druid clutched her sheathed weapons tightly and wove his way through to the smithy, earning a few odd glances from the locals. He made little note of them, however, long since accustomed to the reaction his attire earned him.

- - - - -

Miri found her way around after some help from the locals, managing to find where food and drinks were sold. She began to stock up, choosing the best she could find.

Serosa'ruth returned a moment later, handing the cleric her daggers, "There, all nice and sharp again."

"That was fast," Miri chuckled, taking them with her free hand while her other held the precious food and drinks.

"Smith was a dwarf." Was all the druid needed to answer.

"Ah…"

"Got enough food?"

"Ah, I think so. And if I don't... Well, I can't carry anymore," Miri laughed.

"Here, let me get some of that." Serosa'ruth took one of the food parcels and motioned for Miri to follow him. "Let's get back to the tavern and hope Faelar didn't dare Ky'itae to drink any strong alcohol again."

Miri scrunched up her face and followed him back. "You don't think she'd be that stupid...?"

"Well, not so much as stupid as stubborn. Remember in Athkatla where she screamed, 'this woman never backs down from a dare, dammit!'? That wasn't just drunken rambling... She'll take on 'most any dare given to her... Well, within reason, and drinking ales and beers falls 'within reason.'"

Miri only smacked her face. "Oh boy..."

"...Ya know... Let's walk faster."

Miri sighed and did as he suggested.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Their haste was not needed, for when the duo entered the Griffin's Nest, they found Ky'itae and the others all quite sober. The moon elf waved to them, motioning them over to the table.

"C'mon, I just ordered the local ale for us all." At Serosa'ruth glance, she added with an eye roll, "No, they're _not _strong."

Miri couldn't help but chuckle as she sat the food down before sitting herself down with a sigh, rubbing her lower back. She then grinned at Ky'itae. "Hey, you can't blame him for asking."

"Eh... true enough." The elf begrudgingly admitted. Serosa'ruth sat himself next to her, Faelar nudging himself in on Ky'itae's other side, between her and Saeola.

"Sooo... when do we eat?" The thief grinned, "Me stomach's itching fer food."

Saeola rolled her eyes and poked him in the forehead, pushing him backwards and over. "As soon as the drinks arrive. Just wait."

"'Ey, since when do you poke, dove? Dat's my job."

"I can do what I want," Saeola huffed.

"Fair 'nuff. Same goes for me, though. Doink." The rogue had already vanished before Saeola realized he'd once again poked her intentionally and blatantly too high.

Saeola's eye twitched dangerously and Miri, sitting near her, scooted back several inches, taking the ranger's bow and arrows with her. "Hey!" Saeola protested.

"We're in a small crowded area. Trust me," Miri replied with a nervous smile.

Celdern raised his thick eyebrows at the party's antics. Leaning over to Serosa'ruth, he whispered, "Does this happen often?"

"Why do you think I keep these stocked just in case?" The druid whispered back, holding up his new batch of cassil shrubs and nararoots, "They aren't for _me_." The bard wisely refrained from commenting.

Saeola was fighting with Miri for her weapon back when their drinks were delivered, earning the party as a whole weird looks from the other patrons.

Celdern coughed to gain the girls' attention, "Um... ladies..." He pointed behind them to the annoyed bartender.

"Hey! No naked weapons in the building!" The buff half-orc warned. "Keep yer bow an' arrows in yer room."

The shout distracted Miri, but not Saeola and she snatched them away quickly with a huff. "Oh, fine, fine..." She muttered, standing and moving away to place her weapons in her room.

Miri merely blushed in embarrassment. "M-My apologies."

"It's all right. I was more concerned about the crazy ranger." The bartender glanced back at Saeola before returning to his duties.

Miri bit her lip. "I hope she didn't hear that." There was a pause. When no arrows came, it was safe to assume she hadn't.

"'Ello." Faelar reappeared next to Ky'itae with a wave.

"Where'd you go to avoid Saeola?" Celdern asked, curious.

"Nowhere. I just ducked an' walked back a few steps. Invisibility spells are 'andy." The rogue grinned.

Miri couldn't help but giggle at Faelar's flirting antics. "What happens if she actually hits you one day? Not that that could probably happen... But let's pretend."

"Well, actually, she 'as managed to 'it me once... but that was a smack, not wit da arrows... Eh, if she eva did, I'd probably 'ave a potion ready ta 'eal meself an' I'd shout, 'Congrats dove! Ya won a cookie!'"

"...And then she'd hit you with another arrow, I think."

"Yeah, prolly. But I'd 'eal meself again, disappear, an' 'and 'er two cookies before I run off."

"I see. Like to play with fire, don't you?"

"Da hotta, da betta." Smirking, Faelar sipped his ale, leaving the others to figure out if his comment entailed more than one meaning or not.

Miri raised an eyebrow and coughed, sipping her own ale without a comment as Saeola returned.

Faelar waved at the fellow wild half-elf, "'Ello, dove."

Saeola glared at him, but did not reply and merely sipped her own drink calmly.

"_Anyway_..." Serosa'ruth sighed after a long moment of silence, "Everyone all right with getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow?"

Saeola replied, "No" at the same time Miri replied, "Yes."

"I _hate_ getting up early..." Saeola complained.

"We can beat the heat that way," Miri pointed out. "Get far before the afternoon sun cooks us."

"True."

"Also... Celdern, have any objections to rooming with Faelar and Saeola?" The bard raised his eyebrows.

"None, but... Why don't you just room by men and women?"

"Trust me... It's more amusing this way."

"For you!" Saeola screeched angrily, tempted to throw her drink at him but not wanting to waste good ale.

"Well... I _am_ party leader..."

"...Screw you..." The ranger growled.

"No thanks, I'd prefer to keep my pants to myself right now." The druid retorted calmly.

Saeola's eye twitched, but she said nothing.

"...Well... er... oh, look! Food's here!" Celdern chuckled a bit nervously as the barmaid served them dinner.

Saeola suddenly slapped Celdern on the back as the food was set out in front of them. "Welcome to Hell!" She said cheerfully.

"Uh... Thanks?" The bard raised an eyebrow at the ranger.

"You're really fucking welcome." Saeola grinned.

Miri's eye twitched. "...Are _you_ drunk?"

"On _one_ glass of ale? C'mon!"

"Just checking..."

"Naw, she's jus' always like dis." Faelar chuckled, "Which reminds me, dove... soap?" He help up a plate with a bar of soap that seemed to come out of nowhere, "Yer mouth could use it."

"Fuck you."

Unable to resist, the rogue grinned widely and teasingly, "Really?"

"AAAARRRGGGGHHH!" Saeola screamed in rage.

"I knew that was coming," Miri sighed. Faelar suddenly got a face full of ale and Miri raised her dark eyebrows. "But I definitely didn't see _that_ one coming."

Faelar spat the extra ale out of his mouth, then smiled again, "Completely an' entirely worth it."

Saeola gave him a steely glare. "I _hate_ you..."

Faelar clutched his chest mockingly, as if actually struck by one of her arrows, "Aw, c'mon now, dove. Dat 'urt. It's only a li'l bit 'o fun."

"Feh."

"All right, enough. Eat you two." Serosa'ruth growled sternly, much like an irritated father berating his children.

Saeola stuck her tongue out at Faelar to mock the whole thing before eating as told.

Faelar returned the gesture with another smile and a wink before rapidly consuming his own meal. When they finished, Celdern bade his new party a good night, rising to perform for the tavern while the rest of them settled into their rooms for the night.

- - - - -

Saeola found herself awake well before anyone else. She didn't understand why. It was just... Suddenly she was awake and unable to sleep. But she didn't get up. She just lay there, arms folded underneath her pillow and chin resting on it, eyes staring out the window as the first rays of dawn finally began to peek through after an hour wait.

Suddenly, Faelar swooped into view, barely an inch away from her face as he hung upside-down from the ceiling rafters. "'Ello, dove! 'Ow're we dis mornin'?"

"GAH!" Saeola yelped, sitting bolt upright to first smash her head against his before tumbling over the edge, landing with a graceful **_thump!_** in a twist of blankets. "GODS-DAMMIT, FAELAR!"

Seemingly unaffected by the skull crash, Faelar rocked from side to side, almost monkeylike in movement, "Well, beautiful morn to ya too, dove."

Saeola, now clutching her head in pain, muttered every swear word in the book.

"...Wow, didn't know ya knew dwarven curses." Faelar, still upside-down, rubbed his goatee in thought, "Ya know, dove... ya look kinda pretty in dis light, even if ya are upside-down from dis view." Amused, the rogue noted how from his current position, her green eye appeared to be on her left side and her brown eye on her right. "Heheh... yer eyes switched places when I'm like dis."

She blinked at his comment and glanced up at him in slight surprise. _No! I'm ANGRY at him! Evil bastard, scaring me half to death... I'm ANGRY! I will not blush! I will not... Gods-dammit_. She glanced away when she felt her cheeks flush, now glaring angrily at the wall. "Shut up," She muttered. "Scare the frickin' daylight outta me... Then compliment me... What the hells is up with you...?"

"Gee... I dunno... One:" he held up his index finger, "I almost always greet ya like dis in da morn, dunno why it still startl's ya... Two:" He held up his middle finger with his index, "I speak me mind, an' Three... um, 'ello? Devotee o' Erevan Ilesere, elven god o' mischief an' chaos."

"One: It startles me because I'm always deep in thought when you do it!" Saeola snapped, still rubbing her throbbing forehead painfully. "Two and three: That's no fucking excuse."

"Who said I was makin' excuses? Dey're reasons, not excuses. Ya asked me a question, an' I answered. Con't ya take a compliment fer once?" Still dangling, Faelar stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, just shut up. My head hurts..." Saeola grumbled.

Faelar whistled lowly into his hand, and her headache vanished. "Dat betta?"

Saeola blinked in surprise and her hand fell away. "Ah... Y-Yes..."

"Well, good." Faelar clapped his hands together, smiling and turning his gaze to the snoozing Celdern. "Wow. 'E's a deep sleepin' bloke, eh?"

Saeola blinked and glanced over. She had forgotten about Celdern... "Yeah, he is. Usually my yelling can wake the entire hotel. Heh."

"You wanna wake 'im up, or should I? I don' doubt da Boss'll be in 'ere soon ta get us movin', anyway."

Saeola gave the other half-elf a flat glare. "You seem so _good_ at waking people up, why don't you do it?"

"Eh, thought it'd be polite ta ask." The thief shrugged.

"Er... right. Well, I volunteer you. Go ahead and throw a pillow at him or something."

"Bah. You 'ave no imagination, dove. Watch me... if ya can." Faelar swung back and then used his momentum to fling himself back into the rafters, disappearing from view.

Saeola's eyes followed him as she fell silent, curious.

No noise or movement came from the rafters for some time, and then, suddenly, a long, thick black snake slithered down the rafters and the wall, onto Celdern's bed. Under the bard's covers it went, slithering up the human's leg.

Celdern muttered and stirred, slowly blinking his eyes open, looking down at himself in confusion. The snake hissed and snapped out, stopping just an inch from the man's face, fangs bared. Celdern screamed, his voice slightly higher than normal, scrambling out of bed and landing on the floor with a loud thud. The black snake slithered away to behind Saeola, hissing in what seemed to be a chuckle.

Saeola couldn't help it. She laughed, trying to smother it behind her hand but failing. She knelt down to offer the snake her arm to slither up, smirking over at Celdern. "Good morning."

"Damn half-elves." The bard growled, attempting to untangle his legs. The snake stopped a foot or two from Saeola and began to enlarge, limbs sprouting as it grew. Within a few moments, the snake had transformed back into Faelar, who shared Saeola's laugh.

"C'mon, bloke, I thought you bard types were cheery."

"Not this early in the morning, sorcerer, archdevils damn you."

Saeola smirked at Faelar and withdrew her arm, straightening as she chuckled at Celdern. "Now you know how I feel."

As Celdern cursed and rose, leaving the room to check on the others, Faelar grinned and tapped Saeola lightly with his knuckles on her bicep. "I love dat, ya know. Ya should do it more often. Ya've got a beautiful laugh." Before she could respond, the thief followed Celdern to see if the rest of the party was awake yet.

Saeola was thus left blushing in the room. She placed a hand to her face and half glared after him. _That guy... What the hells..._

Celdern returned a moment later, scratching his red hair in mild bemusement, "They were all already awake and fully dressed. Apparently Serosa'ruth woke the other women up half an hour ago. Does that guy ever _sleep_?" The bard grabbed his shirt and pulled it on, in the middle of buttoning it when he looked up at Saeola. "...Are you feeling okay? Your face is flushed."

Saeola blinked from her daze and waved her hand at him. "I-I'm fine..." She then went to gather her own things hastily.

Celdern raised a thick eyebrow, but didn't question her further. Instead, the human shrugged and pulled his vest on before searching for his boots. Faelar returned and picked up his pack, having already dressed before startling Saeola earlier. He glanced at the ranger and raised his own eyebrows, "...Ya got a fever or somethin', dove?" His tone gave no hint to whether he was teasing her or was truly ignorant of the source for her blush.

"I'm _fine_!" Saeola insisted, rubbing her face with one hand as she finished packing up. "Jeez..."

"...If ya say so, dove."

Saeola said nothing and left the room with a small huff.

"...You really love getting her in a fluster, don't you?" Celdern asked, shouldering his mandolin.

"'Ells yea. 'Tis most fun." Faelar grinned, insuring his blades were securely strapped to his belt.

- - - - -

Saeola met Miri downstairs. She gave the half-elf a hearty wave. "Morning! Hey, why is your face--"

"It's NOTHING, gods-dammit!" Miri raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

"Faelar." Ky'itae stated simply, coming up behind Miri to answer her cut-off question.

"Ah. I should've known," Miri said matter-of-factly, nodding.

"... You all suck..." Saeola grumbled.

"...I could make a comment on that, but I won't cuz it's too early to completely set you off." Ky'itae grinned. "C'mon girl, let's just grab some food to go and get moving. Maybe you'll get to smash some orcs, eh? That might make you feel better."

"Yes, that'd make me feel much better," Saeola agreed. "I can pretend they're you." She stuck her tongue out at Ky'itae to let her know she was kidding.

The elf grinned and leaned up to ruffle the half-elf's hair lightly, "If it helps, go ahead." Saeola rolled her eyes and fixed her hair, though she smiled. The women seated themselves to eat, their male companions soon following suite. They chattered a bit, but mostly ate quickly, so as to move onwards before the sun rose too high.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The band reached the foot of Stone Tooth three days later. They looked upon the oddly shaped rock nearly two thousand feet above them, naturally formed much like an upside-down fang. Celdern looked at his map just to insure they were on the correct path. Folding it up and placing it in his vest, then waved on the others to follow him.

"This way, around the hill a ways. We should reach the entrance to the fortress in an hour or so."

Saeola yawned, stretching her arms above h­­­­er head. "Good. I'm so bored..."

"I rather enjoy the peace," Miri said.

"If you're bored, milady, I assure you a few orcs will probably show up soon. My last band learned they usually have scouting and hunting parties out around this time... And if we find them, we need to kill them all, because we don't want the main group to have any warning, should we run into them." Celdern warned.

"Great!" Saeola said cheerfully.

"Great my foot..." Miri sighed, pushing her bangs back.

"I have to agree with Saeola on this one. As Sero said, if I can't do anything else, I can smash orcs!" Ky'itae grinned, brandishing her bastard sword while her druid friend rolled his blue eyes.

"You're all insane..." The Calishite grumbled.

Saeola slung her arm around Miri in reply. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

"Or push them off a cliff..." The cleric retorted.

"Some of us will push ourselves off a cliff. Isn't dat righ', dove?" Faelar grinned, referring to his choice of exiting the Nether Mountains so many months ago.

"Oh! You'd do that for me?" Saeola snickered teasingly at him.

"Thought I already did. You didn't like it then, why woulda now? If I rememba correctly, ya screamed at me fer nearly giving you a 'eart attack." Faelar grinned back, purposely leaving out for the newer party members exactly why Saeola had been so scared over the incident.

"Of _COURSE_ it nearly gave me a heart attack! You threw us _both_ off a cliff!"

"Pssh. I knew whot I was doin'. Yer still alive, ain'tcha?"

"Feh."

Miri, who was now well ahead of the two half-elves with the other two party members, called out to them. "Are you two coming or what? Jeez..."

"Already gone, Miri." Faelar said, jogging in front of the cleric and springing into the trees.

"Odd one, he is." Celdern chuckled, scanning the road ahead.

"You have _NO_ idea," Saeola grumbled as she joined them as well.

- - - - -

They passed on in relative silence for a while longer, slowly ascending up the high hillside, Faelar following them through the trees. Suddenly, the thief yelled from above, "'OI! DOVE, DUCK!"

Saeola judged, from the sound of his voice, that this wasn't a joke. So she instantly complied. A smart move on her part, as no later than a second than she had, an arrow whizzed right above her head, landing with a thud on the tree behind her. Another small _vish!_ filled the air, and a moment later, an orcan archer stumbled out of the bushes, a dagger lodged in his throat.

Faelar leapt down in front of the party, Quickdeath and Glorykiller withdrawn. "Dere's more, get ready." He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, Serosa'ruth coming up beside him, longswords unsheathed and poised for attack.

Saeola quickly stood and drew an arrow back on her bow, readying herself as well. Miri drew her two daggers, positioning herself beside the half-elf. "Got your wish," She chuckled.

"I guess I did," Saeola smirked.

Celdern had moved to the back, his mandolin out by the time seven more orcs burst out ahead, axes ready. "You guys attack, and I'll back you up here." At a few skeptical looks, he sighed, "Trust me. Bardic arts are useful in their own ways."

Already charging into the fray, Faelar and Serosa'ruth merely waved their arms in response. Saeola drew an arrow back and fired at the orc closest to her, striking it in the eye and she hastily drew another arrow.

Faelar and the two elves each took on an orc on their own, slicing through the monsters' flesh. Celdern began fiercely strumming his instrument, lowly singing. Magical energy surged from his bardic song, energizing his allies and protecting them against minor attacks. When an orc came too close, he quickly flipped his mandolin back over his shoulder and withdrew his scimitar.

Miri took on an orc of her own, easily dodging the creature's blows. She was quick on her feet, striking here and there with her daggers. Plunging the curved blades in the orc's flesh before drawing them out quickly to dodge the next attack.

Celdern quickly offed the challenging orc with a slice to the throat, while Serosa'ruth slashed an "X" through an orc's torso and pushed off the dying monster to plunge into his next target. Ky'itae lopped her orc's head off, grinning almost ferally at the evil being's blood spray that stained her hair and armor.

Faelar punctured the stomach of his opponent with Glorykiller and in the same movement, twisted his torso around and flung his free arm out, Quickdeath flying out and landing in the base of the final orc's skull.

Saeola pried her own sword free from a fallen orc and glanced over her shoulder. "Was that the last of 'em?"

Faelar nodded, wiping some blood off his lip, "Yeah, fer now, at least."

Miri cleaned her daggers of blood. "Jeez, good thing for us you saw them, Faelar. Saeola would've lost her head!"

"Yeah... Thanks, I owe you one," Saeola agreed.

Faelar waved his hand in dismissal, "Ya should know I'd neva let anythin' 'appen to ya guys if I could 'elp it. I'm not a _complete_ goofball... I think." He finished his statement with a small smile and a wink.

Saeola chuckled. "Some would disagree."

"Do we keep going forward now?" Miri asked to no one in particular.

Speaking up for the first time in a few hours, Serosa'ruth nodded, "Celdern, lead the way to Khundrukar."

"Aye, as ye wish." Celdern sheathed his scimitar and wove through the group to retake the head.

- - - - -

A few hours later, the party followed Celdern around a bend and into broad, shallow steps led up into a steep fissure in the rock. Here, the bard pointed out the moss-ridden stone double-doors standing ten feet tall. Luckily for the group, the sturdy doors stood slightly ajar, enough for them to slip in one-by-one. Serosa'ruth looked around and took note of two small arrow slits on the walls surrounding them. His ears detected no movement of archers, so he relaxed his muscles slightly.

The group filed in, finding themselves in a large hall, where they stood on a narrow ledge overlooking a rather deep crevasse that split the room in two. A narrow and rickety-looking bridge served as the only passage over the abyss. The elves and half-elves switched to the infrared spectrum as the only light source came from the door opening.

Celdern muttered lowly and touched his eyes, which soon glowed in infrared vision as well. He leaned over to Miri, holding a scroll in his hand, "Would you like me to cast a Darkvision spell for you? Torches will probably make us too easy to track." He whispered, wary of any monsters lurking about.

Miri tossed him a glare and was about to retort with a nasty comment when she remembered Serosa'ruth's words. Her gaze softened and she glanced away, voice low. "U-Uh... y-yes... Thank you..."

"Welcome." Celdern uttered lowly, knowing the words to scroll by heart. In a moment, the scroll disappeared and Miri's eyes began to glow lowly with Darkvision.

Saeola whistled lowly. "This looks fun."

"Well... looks like the only way across is the bridge. Shall we proceed?" Before waiting for an answer, Serosa'ruth slowly and carefully stepped onto the rickety bridge, holding on to the ropes on the sides. Ky'itae followed behind him and Faelar soon after her.

The thief motioned for Saeola to come next, "C'mon, dove... you're next in line." He whispered, offering his gloved hand out to help her on.

Saeola sighed softly and nodded, moving over and taking his offered hand as she carefully stepped onto the bridge. It wobbled underneath her feet and she felt like she was going to fall over, tightening her grip on Faelar's hand as a result. She made a face, but said nothing.

The two humans carefully followed, the group slowly walking single-file over the bridge when Serosa'ruth suddenly stopped. Ky'itae bumped into him. "Hey! What's the--" The druid shoved her head down before she could finish, and just as he did, an arrow flew and lodged into his forearm. Serosa'ruth ripped the missile weapon out, and no blood spewed forth -- apparently it had only hit his bracer.

"Dammit! More orcs!" The druid snarled, jerking his head to the side as another arrow zipped by. "Two archers."

"Shit. I see dem now... damn... Dove, ya got room ta shoot yer bow?" Faelar asked, deflecting an arrow with his short sword.

Miri yelped and ducked, covering her head with her hands and making the bridge sway as Saeola nodded. "Yeah, just duck yourself!" She said, drawing an arrow back on her bow. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she quickly locked onto one of the two orcs, firing the arrow at it to land the hit straight between the creature's eyes.

"'Ey, nice shot, dove." Faelar complimented as he crouched down to stay out of her way, "But dat otha one's coverin' 'imself behind dat pillar." Leaning just far out enough to shoot, the last orc shot his arrow, which flew over and past the party.

"Well, that was a crappy shot." Ky'itae snorted.

"Maybe not," Serosa'ruth said warily, pointing behind them to the other end of the bridge. The arrow struck through one of the supporting ropes, tearing it all the way through. The bridge lurched and tilted over, but before the crew could lose their balance, the other supporting rope snapped from the weight, sending the bridge hurtling towards the rock wall in front of them. They slammed into the rock, jerking them all. Without a strong grab-hold, Saeola fell back and began to fall towards the seemingly bottomless gap below.

Quickly sliding his hand down the rope a bit to lower himself, Faelar just managed to snag hold of Saeola's forearm and held tight. He panted from the effort and tangled his other hand within the bridge ropes to secure his own hold on it. "I... gotcha dove." He gasped. "You all righ'?"

Saeola felt as if her heart was going to leap from her chest. She thought for sure that she was going to fall to her death. Then Faelar caught her and she let out a shakily breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She glanced up at him, blinking rapidly. "Y-Yes," She stammered. "W-What about you...?"

"My arms're on fire, but otherwise intact." Faelar managed to pull a grin.

"Ugh... I hate heights..." Celdern groaned as he looked down below from his place at the bottom of the dangling bridge.

Miri, directly above Celdern, wailed. "Now what do we do?"

"We're going to stay calm and hold on. Give me a few moments." Serosa'ruth answered. He grabbed on to the edge of one of the boards and half-pushed, half-jumped up, levitating to boost himself higher. He landed over the edge of the rock, withdrawing his blades in flight. The surprised orc fumbled for another arrow, but never managed to shoot it as Serosa'ruth quickly decapitated him. Sighing, the fighter/druid sheathed his swords and ran over to check on the others, "Keep hanging! I'll get you up in a second. Ky, can you climb up to me?"

"I-I think so." The elven woman began to clamber up the wood and ropes, before nearing the rock. Serosa'ruth reached down and pulled her up to him.

Once she was safely on the ground again, her friend directed her to grab one end of the remaining support rope and to pull it upwards while he yelled down to the others. "Hang on tight, we're gonna pull the bridge up!" And proceed to take the other support rope to yank it up in unison with Ky'itae's pulling.

And once safely on the solid ground, Miri scrambled away from the edge while Saeola released Faelar's hand and also moved away, taking deep breaths to calm herself. Her stomach had lurched from the fall.

"Stupid orc..." Miri muttered once she had regained her breath.

Faelar panted again, sliding down to lean against the wall and regain his breath while he rubbed his sore arms, "Ugh... gimme a moment... I think dat slam inta da wall nearly popped me arms outtader sockets."

"Well... looks like we can't go back this way now, anyway." Serosa'ruth sighed, looking at the destroyed bridge.

Saeola frowned and glanced over her shoulder at the destroyed bridge as she stood up. "Then here's hoping there's another way out..."

"I can hear water down there," Ky'itae pointed down into the chasm. "And we passed by a river on the way up, so if all else fails, we can look for a lower location of the water and see if we can find the way that leads outside."

"Sounds good to me," Saeola said with a nod.

"Yeah, as long as we aren't trapped in here..." Miri mumbled, shuddering as she stood up herself.

Faelar seemed to mentally sort out something before nodding in agreement, "Yeah... I don't think I've got anythin' dat would teleport or take us all out, so dat sounds good."

"I could try opening an entrance in the rock, but only if it's very, very close to the outside," Serosa'ruth sighed, "So finding the water is probably best... And I guess it's a good thing I'm a decent cave tracker. Faelar, you ready to go?" The rogue rolled his arms to loosen them up and nodded, "Very well then... onwards, my friends." The druid motioned for the others to follow him through the next set of stone doors.

Saeola approached the other half-elf before he could move, however, and rubbed the back of her neck with a shy glance. "Thanks. For saving me, I mean," She said before hurriedly following after Serosa'ruth. Having her life saved meant someone cared whether she died or not. And that was something new to her.

Faelar watched her go as he rose in mild bemusement before cracking a small smile, "Anytime, dove." He responded in barely above a whisper.

"That's two you owe him." Celdern whispered in a half-teasing tone to Saeola as they entered another chamber. This one was empty and much like a natural cave. Serosa'ruth and Ky'itae scanned the room carefully, examining the various piles of rubble and old wooden chests and crates.

Saeola chuckled, glancing over at Celdern as Miri passed them to help the other two elves examine the room. "Yeah," She chuckled. "I'll have to make those up soon."

"If you get the chance. Pretty quick, ain't he?" Celdern rubbed his goatee, nodding in acknowledgement of the thief's skill. Serosa'ruth and Ky'itae returned from their scavenging, shaking their heads.

"Nothing here." Ky'itae sighed, looking at the four visible exits out of the room, "Which way?

"That'd be Celdern's call, I think," Saeola said, glancing at the bard as Miri nudged over an empty chest curiously.

Celdern rubbed his goatee again in thought, trying to remember which way his last party had gone, as the map had stopped at the entrance, and even if it went further, it was too dark to read it anyway, and it wasn't legible in infrared.

"Let's see... last time... we went...hm... In that entrance," He pointed to the south, "it was just a few prisoner cells, and we managed to free two locals, but I don't think the orcs have anyone new in here, as I would've heard about it in Blasingdell by now. Next we went... directly ahead. Nothing for a bit of a stretch, then we found ourselves right in the middle of an orc encampment... that's as far as we got before the orcs killed off the other two and I managed to escape. I've no idea what's beyond the other passages, though. We did manage to kill a few orcs, and I was in a crew of half what we are now, so we might be able to make it through the camp."

Saeola rubbed her chin. "Maybe... but should we really risk that?"

"I think we can manage," Miri piped up. "Faelar has invisibility spells he can cast just in case, right?"

Faelar nodded, "I 'ave a 'Mass Invisibility' dat'll work, but you all 'ave ta be no more dan two feet apart fer me to cast it on everyone at once."

"Then it's settled!" Ky'itae pounded a fist into her open palm, "Orc smashin' time!" She grinned, her canines unusually long.

Saeola grinned and punched the air. "All right!"

"Speak for yourselves," Miri groaned.

"Gladly." Saeola stuck her tongue out at the cleric.

"Lead us as close as you can, then, Celdern, then Faelar can cast his spell." Serosa'ruth ordered in a soft tone. The bard nodded, taking the lead.

"Follow me then, and keep very, very quiet. Orcs are stupid, but their ears aren't half bad."

"And keep on your toes," Saeola added before following after Celdern, Miri shuffling close behind.

The six moved what seemed relatively quietly, though the druid seemed to cringe ever other step. Only he seemed to make absolutely no sound through the rocks, as if specially trained to be ultimately stealthy in caverns... or anywhere else, for that matter. The druid rarely made much noise from movement, no matter where he was. After a few turns, Celdern stopped, nodding to the others. "Far as we can go without being seen." He whispered. Faelar took his cue and chanted very lowly, wiggling his fingers in the air before everyone disappeared from sight.

"Remember, yer invisibility is gone da second any one o' us makes an aggressive move." The thief warned.

"Dually noted," Miri whispered, taking a hold of Saeola's wrist to ensure she didn't get too far away and cause the cloak to drop.

Saeola didn't seem to care and nodded silently. "Let's do this."

The others, either from skill or knowledge of the area, went on their own without grasping each other's hand, and they all entered a long, narrow cavern littered with more crates, barrels, sacks, and other supplies. Only four orcs occupied the area at the moment, and so Faelar sacrificed their invisibility to fling out three poison daggers, instantly killing the same amount of orcs. Before the final orc realized the danger, the thief had sliced through his eye, permanently silencing the monster.

"Well, we're clear 'ere." Faelar sighed. "Shall we look around? Might 'ave somethin' useful in all dese ransacked items."

"Couldn't hurt," Saeola agreed, prying her wrist free from Miri and cautiously moving about the area.

They inspected the area closely, finding nothing but food and trinkets when Celdern overturned a rock and found a small strongbox. He pulled out a small piece of wire and picked at the lock, finally releasing it and opening the box. He pulled out a small flask, "Holy water," he observed to the others, then eyed the other contents, "And a bunch of gold coins." He pocketed the flask and the coins, "Well, we're maybe a hundred or so gold richer, but that's it. Any luck for you guys?"

Saeola kicked a large, heavy chest over on its side with her foot. "Nope." Miri stood up from her crouched position, having been examining something. "Nothing here..."

"Well... where to nex-- hold on." Serosa'ruth paused, feeling along the wall, "...There's a door here." He pushed a bit on the wall, and the rock pivoted in the center, revealing a chamber cluttered with furniture. Yellowed skulls dangled from the ceiling, and smoke from a small fire put the room in a haze. On the opposite of the end of the room, an orc in ragged black robes looked up from her desk and snarled in rage. "...Crap."

Saeola cringed and instantly drew her blade, taking a defensive stand. "Nice going, green one."

Not bothering to make a retort, Serosa'ruth back-flipped and dodged a fireball sent his way. By the time he stood on his feet again, his swords were out.

Miri quickly drew her daggers and backed away. "A priestess. Screwed."

"All creatures bleed." Faelar growled, springing forward and through the door to engage the shaman head-on.

"True enough," Saeola agreed and followed, darting forward to take a swing at the creature's legs.

The orc female growled and motioned her arms. Two other orcs sprang out from behind furniture and attacked the two-half-elves while the monster priestess threw a flask out at the entrance. It shattered on the floor and red-hot flames surrounded the door, preventing entrance or exit. Serosa'ruth stopped short of the fire and cursed.

Miri also skidded to a halt, leaping away from the flames and nearly crashing into Serosa'ruth. "Ah! Oh no, they're trapped in there!"

Ky'itae bit her lip and turned to Serosa'ruth, "Don't druids know how to form water?"

"Yes, but I can't cast it powerful enough to put out that." The male elf growled, "Either we'll have to hope Faelar can douse it, or we'll have to hope they can last during the time the alchemist's fire spell is active."

Saeola dodged a spell thrown at her before deflecting another one with her blade. She glanced toward the blocked doorway with a grimace. _Damn! There's no way Faelar and I can take this one down by ourselves!_

Faelar stabbed the orc facing him in the throat before flinging his arm out in Saeola's direction. The ranger felt an odd sensation over her skin for a moment, then nothing. A moment later, the shaman pointed her staff at the young woman, shooting a bolt of red and orange magical energy that looked much like a screaming skull. The spell bounced off of Saeola and slammed into the orc priestess. Her rebounded Cause Fear spell took effect immediately, and the shaman scrambled out through a previously hidden door, slamming it behind her. This left only one more orc guard, who suddenly felt very uneasy about the odds.

Saeola made a face and lunged, chopping the remaining orc's head off. "Damn," She said, standing and smirking at Faelar. "I owe you thrice."

"Ya can make it up lata, dove." Faelar grinned, the pointed at the still-strongly burning fire at the main entrance, and then the exit the shaman took, "Whot should we do?"

Saeola lowered her bloodstained sword and glanced from the fire to the door. "...Let's go after that shaman. I'm sure Serosa'ruth can figure out how to follow us."

"Yes, I'm sure I can." Serosa'ruth called through the wall of fire, "I can still hear you. Go ahead. We'll catch up later. Just make sure to stay alive."

Saeola blinked, then waved. "All right! Be careful yourself!" She then nodded to Faelar and headed through the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The half-elf pair entered a large chamber, the ceiling over thirty feet above. Two large stone doors lay at the other end of the room to the north, and on the western side stood a gate of wrought iron. Elegant carvings of dwarves working at their forges adorned the walls, and several old skeletons littered the floor near the northern door. In the center of the room lay a natural rift, dozen of stone steps leading into its darkness.

Faelar whistled lowly, "Wow." Was all he managed to say.

Saeola nodded in agreement, wide eyes roaming about the room. Her gaze then paused on the stone steps before cautiously approaching them. "Let's not linger."

"...An' let's not stand right there." Faelar yanked Saeola back, noticing a pressure plate just in front of where she stood, "Looks like there're some traps in dis room." A collection of snarls and metal clinking made the thief sigh, "...An' more damn orcs."

Saeola made a face. "Figures." She lifted her blade, turning her back to Faelar to face two large orcs.

As the first two monsters charged on Saeola, another duo came out and went for Faelar. The rogue withdrew his sword and dagger, crouching down to spring. He ducked the first one's ax swing, twisting around to stab upwards -- only to be tripped by the second orc. Faelar dodged another attack as he barely managed to regain his balance. "Oh, so it's dirty fighting ya want, eh?" He laughed, "Den you'll get dirty fightin'!"

Saeola dodged the two orcs as they attacked at once, leaping over them. She flipped and landed on her feet to face their backs, whirling around and launching her sword into the back of one's head. She quickly yanked it free, moving out of the way just as the second orc swung, hitting his dead buddy instead of his actual target.

Faelar, in the meantime, tapped one of the axes on the side as it passed him by. The weapon shook and suddenly shot towards its companion's ax, clanging into the other weapon as if pulled by magnetic force. While the orcs tried to separate their axes, Faelar leapt above them and kicked them each in the side of the head, sending their skulls to slam into each other. Dazed, the monsters stumbled, and Faelar took this chance to drive a blade into each of their hearts.

Saeola drove her blade into the second orc's heart as well, pulling away and dodging to the side as the large beast fell onto his other dead comrade.

Faelar flicked his blades to remove the blood off of them, then sheathed the weapons and turned to the ranger, giving her a thumbs-up. "Pretty bloody good, dove." He grinned.

She smirked at him, resting her bloody blade on one shoulder. "Thanks. Shall we continue?"

"Indeed, I thin--" He stopped, straining an ear. "...Do ya 'ear dat strange buzzin'?" He looked in direction of the stairs and the hole they led into.

Saeola went quiet but gave him a questioning look. She followed his gaze and listened until she heard it too. "Yeah," She whispered. "What is that..?"

"...Something not good." Indeed, the rogue was right -- a moment later, four large flying things -- birds, insects, bats, it was hard to tell -- emerged from the stairwell and arrowed towards the pair, buzzing loudly.

"Damn!" Saeola swore, discarding her sword and quickly drawing an arrow, firing into the group of striges. The arrow struck one through the head, sending the monster spiraling to the ground, but the three remaining came on. Faelar drew his short sword again, using Glorykiller to swat at the flying creatures in an attempt to keep them back. One dodged his movements and latched onto his bicep.

Faelar's eyebrow twitched and he attempted to yank the strige off. When that failed, he stabbed through what he supposed was its stomach. The stirge gurgled in death and its grip loosened. Faelar pulled it off then, blood spewing forth from his bicep where it had latched on to him. "Oh, great. Dey're bloodsuckers. Dat's no fun."

"Ahhh!" Saeola yelped as one got her as well. Quickly she slammed an arrow into the creature's head, pushing hard until its grip loosened and she could yank it off, crushing it underneath her foot with a shiver. "I HATE these things!"

"Who _likes_ 'em?" Faelar asked, taunting the final strige. The irritated monster dove at him, and once it came close enough, Faelar poked it with a "Doink!" and it instantly died, screeching as it crumbled to the ground. "Someone call a janitor fer clean-up, eh?" The thief laughed, apparently oblivious to the gushing wound in his right arm.

Saeola chuckled, rubbing the place on her thigh where the strige had gotten her. "Yeah. It's not good for us to leave a trail like this, but what can you do?"

"Well, ya can do dis." Faelar leaned down and tapped her wound while muttering something arcane, a piece of paper clenched in one hand. The wound began to close on its own, though somewhat slowly. "Heh. Ain't regeneration scrolls great? Dat actually should be in effect fer a while, so any new wounds ya get will slowly start to close themselves."

"Thanks... Make sure to use that spell for yourself too."

"...Eh... I only 'ad one scroll wit me."

"..." Saeola suddenly thwacked him on the side of the head. Not too hard, but hard enough to hurt. "You idiot! Then don't waste it on _me_!"

"Eh, whot's a li'l blood an' pain? Lets me know I'm alive. I jus' need ta find some old cloth ta make a tourniquet wit'. ...And if ya ask me, dove, it ain't wasted on ya." The rogue stuck his tongue out at her.

"Feh. You're so stupid..." Saeola quickly ripped both her sleeves off, tying them together before handing the joined cloth to his wound, putting pressure on it. "Here, this'll help."

"We coulda used da orcs' sleeves, ya know." Faelar pointed out, but accepted her cloth nonetheless, "Thanks."

Saeola made a face at him. "They're soaked in blood. That's gross."

"Not da sleeves on da ones I killed. Still... Da ripped sleeves look suits ya, dove." Faelar grinned, "Remind me ta buy ya a new shirt when we get back ta Blasingdell."

Saeola glared at him, but the effect was ruined due to her flushed face. "Let's just get going..." She muttered.

"Righ... but where? I'm not so sure about dat north door... dose skeletons look scorched... prolly a fire trap... an' I doubt dose gates will move easily... so... down it is?" He pointed at the stairs leading into darkness.

Saeola nodded. "That's where I was thinking. Here, hold the cloth to your wound and follow me." She took her hand and placed it over the cloth (as if he couldn't figure it out himself) before leading the way carefully down the stairs.

- - - - -

The two half-elves descended slowly and quietly down the winding stone steps. After descending some sixty or so feet, a rushing stream spilled down from a narrow crack to their left and crossed through the stairway. Faelar jumped the small width of water, removing his hand from his wound to balance himself against the wall.

Saeola followed right after him, staggering a bit as the jump caused pain in her leg. It may be healing slowly, but it was still painful. Now behind the other half-elf, she peered past him. "Still a ways to go..."

"Yeah... ya'd think da dwarves would carve short stairways cuz all da buggers've got stubby legs..."

Saeola snickered. "Careful. I heard they were sensitive about that."

Faelar chuckled, "Maybe, but rememba, Celdern told us da dwarves 'ere all died ova a century ago. I'm guessin' it was from an orc raid."

"Yeah... It's a pity. I've never gotten to actually meet a dwarf before."

"Really?" Faelar asked, somewhat surprised, "Dere were a few in Blasingdell. Didn't talk ta any of dem?"

"No. Never got around to it, I suppose."

"Well, we've got a fair amount o' dwarves in Waterdeep. Probably 'bout twice as many 'o dem as dere are 'alf-elves in da City 'o Splendors... Ya eva been ta Waterdeep, dove?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Aw, ya really need ta one day, dove! It's beautiful!" Faelar's brown eyes seemed to take on a far-off gaze for a moment, "Every sort o' race an' religion an' culture kin be found dere. Sure, Waterdeep ain't witout its bad parts, but a lot 'o good comes outta dere. Buildings tall as giant trees, great wizard's towers, cobblestone streets, ships pullin' inta port in da Docks District... I betcha 'alf da languages in all o' Faerun are spoken in da Waterdeep marketplace... 'Ells, even da slums are nice in comparison ta other places. I should know..." He turned to the ranger with a wide grin, "I'm gonna drag you ova dere one o' dese days."

Saeola smiled, closing her eyes briefly to try and picture this place. "Hm... Sounds very nice and peaceful. I would love to go there sometime."

"Heh... well, peaceful only if ya know where ta go, which... I do." The rogue gave another of his trademark smirks. "Maybe we can bug da Boss into travelin' dere one day, eh? Ya could see where I grew up... not dat it's dat interestin' or you would care, though."

Saeola's eyes fluttered back open. "Hey, I care... I think it would very nice."

"Ya wanna look in Waterdeep's 'igher slums? Why?"

"Why not?"

"Dunno... jus' don' see why it'd interest you."

"Well... Because... It's where you were born." She muttered shyly, averting her gaze to some interesting speck on the far wall.

"Well... I... Wasn't born dere." Faelar admitted, "I was born... well... somewhere even further south dan 'ere."

"Oh?" Her gaze returned to him. "Where would that be?"

Faelar shrugged, "Somewhere around da edge o' Chondalwood, to da east 'o 'ere an' north 'o The Shar, I think. I'm... not really sure. I don't rememba dat well. Me ma moved wit me ta Waterdeep afta me Da was killed in some 'unting 'accident' about thirteen years ago... I think I was five den ... though sometimes I wonder if it was less o' an accident an' more o' 'is tribe punishin' 'im fer joinin' wit a 'uman an' spawnin' a 'alf-breed bastard." Faelar snorted and rolled his eyes.

"...Ah. You weren't one of the lucky ones. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked..."

"Naw, it's all right. Me mum always said I'm lucky I didn't get all o' me da's traits -- too serious 'e was 'alf da time, she said. I could always make 'er laugh." The thief grinned, "Least dere was one person I could get a chuckle out of even as I was raisin' all da Nine 'Ells in da 'ouse." He laughed at the memory. "Whot 'bout you, dove? Yer da nature sort... were ya raised by yer elven parent?"

Saeola blinked, not expecting him to ask her about her own past. She rubbed the back of head and shrugged slightly. "Yeah... My mom. I did get to see my dad on occasions, though."

"I suppose yer mom's family an' tribe didn' like 'er an' you 'anging around 'umans much, huh?" Both knew how reclusive full-blooded wild elves were.

"Yes, of course. My mom was eventually abandoned by the tribe. My dad wanted us both to come live with him, but my mom wanted me to learn the ways of the elves. So we left to find our own home together. My dad came to visit every now and then. Sometimes he took me back to his place and I learned about human culture as well. Best of both worlds, I guess."

"Lucky you. No wonder I'm more at 'ome in da city... me da' didn't even take me into da woods while 'e was alive. 'E snuck away ta see me an' Mum usually once a tenday or so... 'Is tribe didn' even know 'bout me an' Mum 'til a few days before 'e died. He was a pretty good 'unter, didn't save 'im in da end, I guess... 'Ad a knack fer magic, too... Guess I got dat from 'im, eh?"

"I'd guess so. But... did you learn to fight like that on your own or did your dad teach you?"

Faelar shrugged, "Da' showed me a few minor tricks fer fun, but dat's it. I started out as a pitpocket so Mum could pay bills an' keep me in school, an' when da occasional bully tried ta pick on me, I jus' made 'im look like an idiot by fightin'... Often by jus' movin' around a lot an' tirin' dem out. I've always been a quick li'l bastard." He grinned wider this time.

Saeola smirked. "Quick bastard indeed. I can vouch for that. Heh."

Faelar smirked back with a shrug, suddenly remembering to press his hand back against his bleeding bicep, "I try me best."

Saeola chuckled and finally they had reached the end, her feet leaving the steps. She glanced around carefully. "I don't hear any orcs... yet."

"No... But... eh... let's keep it down." Faelar pointed up at the ceiling to a horde of sleeping striges, "I'd rather not fight any more 'o dem... so let's jus' creep along, eh?" He whispered. Saeola nodded silently in agreement, and the half-elf duo quietly crept through and out of the cavern.

_Well, that's all I have for now… there's plenty of more stuff written, but, unfortunately, that does not include the next few chapters – I have to go back and fill in that "gap"; I'll try my best to get the next part of the story up soon, but remember I'm in college now and SL's in her senior year of high school, so it may be a little while before this updates. Then again, maybe not so long. We'll see._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Meanwhile, the other members of the party had turned back around, retracing their steps. They returned to the cavern where the paths branched off in different directions.

"Hmm… Where to?" Serosa'ruth turned to his party, his eyes settling on Celdern.

"Well, I've never been to the northern section." The human bard noted, motioning his head towards said path.

"Sounds like a plan." Ky'itae looked over at her druid friend. "Shall we?"

"Indeed." The male elf nodded his head and with a swish of his dark cloak, began creeping towards the northern exit. Ky'itae followed directly behind, the humans tailing after her.

"We could be walking into a death trap, you know." Miri pointed out to Celdern, her eyes narrowing slightly. It was difficult to keep the accusatory tone out of her voice.

The Tethyrian returned the glare, "That's why we proceed with _caution_, Waukeen cleric." He grumbled, "So don't try to blame _me_ if _you_ can't keep your wits about you."

The Calishite woman felt her metaphorical feathers ruffle. "Excuse _me_, but unlike another certain human here, _I_ can actually—"

"Sshhh!" Serosa'ruth turned to them, a gloved finger over his covered lips. He pointed ahead, where two burly orcs stood guard in front of a small flight of stairs. "I'm impressed they haven't heard you two yet." The druid hissed. "Get your weapons ready in case there're more." And with that, the cloaked elf blended into the shadows.

His three companions drew their weapons even as they heard the dying gurgles of the orcan duo. Ky'itae crept towards the stairs, looking up them as Serosa'ruth came back into view. "What's up there?" The lythari warrior inquired.

"I'm not sure, but I'll bet they don't like visitors." Celdern muttered, walking a few steps up to see a large, ironbound door at the top of the steps. Nailed to it with an iron spike was a bloodstained human skull.

Miri bit her lip, coming up next to Ky'itae. "Should we check it out? Last time a door opened on us, it didn't turn out too well."

"True, but what if something important's behind it?" Serosa'ruth pointed out. "Be on your guard." And with that, the druid pushed against the iron door, though it barely budged. "Damn, it's heavy."

"Let me help." Ky'itae placed herself next to Serosa'ruth and helped him push. The door finally swung inward with a loud groan.

The four adventurers stumbled into a small chamber adorned with tattered animal hides and smoldering torches lighting the walls. An odd and disgusting scent attacked their nostrils, causing both elves to fight back their gag reflexes.

"You think to challenge the Great Ulfe!" a deep voice rumbled from some yards away. The party looked to see a large, brown and warty humanoid step into the light. His greasy black hair shined in the firelight, and he held a large axe in one hand. In his other he gripped thick chains, which served as leashes to two huge wolves snarling at the adventurers.

The ogre released his hold on the chains, freeing the wolves, "Vak! Thrag! At them!" The gray wolves sprung forward, snarling at the four intruders.

"What did I tell you!" Miri cried, her daggers at the ready.

"And I said to be prepared, remember?" Serosa'ruth chuckled, his longswords withdrawn as he jumped over the wolves and charged at Ulfe. The ogre's hounds turned around for a moment, briefly debating whether to attack the druid and protect their master, or take on the other three.

Their answer came in the form of a third large wolf – this one brown – that leapt upon the smaller gray wolf and engaged it in combat.

"Where –?" Miri and Celdern blinked in bemusement. Serosa'ruth pushed Ulfe's axe back with both swords when the ogre swung at him.

"It's Ky'itae." The druid answered quickly, dodging a swing from the large axe. "She's a lythari – an elven werewolf of good alignment."

"Oh." Celdern nodded in understanding before he realized the second wolf had charged at Miri, engaging the young woman in close combat. The bard quickly swung his mandolin around to his front, taking the instrument into his hands. He quickly began to strum a haunting tune.

Miri deftly dodged the wolf's attacks and began to counter when she realized it had stopped, its ears twitching. The wolf looked around in bemusement, then stumbled off, charging at its brother. It knocked the other gray lupine creature off of Ky'itae. The two wolves snarled at each other and were lost in a tumble of claws and teeth.

"Confusion, a very handy tune." Celdern chuckled, flipping his mandolin over to his back and withdrawing his scimitar. He ran to aid Serosa'ruth in fighting the ogre, leaving a huffing Miri behind.

"I didn't need your help." She muttered, though she felt slightly guilty over the sediment. Party members stick out for each other, and the fact the bard was a Tethyrian shouldn't make any difference. The cleric shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she joined Ky'itae in attack Ulfe.

The great ogre growled in frustration, swinging his axe wildly. The four adventurers dodged the attacks, and Ky'itae leapt through an opening, snapping her powerful jaws through the wooden axe handle. Ulfe's weapon clattered to the ground, useless. He tossed aside the remains with a snarl grabbing the lythari with one great hand.

Ky'itae let out a yip in surprise and pain, but didn't lessen her efforts. Growling, she bit down hard on Ulfe's wrists. The ogre yowled and released the wolf, gripping his bleeding wrist in pain.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Miri flung one of her daggers into the ogre's eye while Serosa'ruth sliced a long curved gash through the ogre's stomach. Ulfe fell to his knees in agony, allowing Celdern to swiftly and brutally remove the monster's head from his shoulders.

Taking a moment to recover, the adventures looked about for the wolves, only to discover that the ogre's hounds had fled. Wise animals.

"Well, that was unpleasant." Ky'itae, transforming back into her elven form, grumbled and held her stomach for a second. "That bastard gripped hard."

"You all right?" Serosa'ruth's green eyebrows furrowed in concern, but the moon elf waved them away.

"I'm fine, just a little sore." She assured. Miri located the ogre's head and pulled her dagger out from its eye socket. She looked up at the nearby wall, squinting.

"…There's two wooden chests here." She called over to the others. Intrigued, the other three came up behind the short woman to examine the containers.

"Not very sturdy…" Serosa'ruth ran his fingers along the wood carefully, "And no detectable traps…"

"Easy opening, then." Ky'itae ripped off the half-rusted iron padlocks and tossed them aside. Chuckling at the moon elf, Miri pushed open the first chest, while Celdern opened the second. Gold and silver coins and a potion bottle lined Miri's container, while more coins and a decorative rapier filled Celdern's. The bard fished out large pouches out of his pack, tossing one to the Calishite.

"Here, that's bag's enchanted to hold more items than it looks." He told Miri as quickly began shoveling coins into his pouch.

Miri muttered a quick, "Thank you" before doing the same, eyeing the potion bottle closely. Unable to identify it, but figuring she could sell it later, she shrugged and dropped in the pouch.

"Hmm… a well crafted rapier," Serosa'ruth noted, picking up the weapon and examining it. He handed it back to Celdern to put away, "Keep it. We can get it inspected later and see if Saeola can find any use for it, since she uses these blades. If not, we can sell it."

"I thought druids have no need for money." Celdern grinned. Serosa'ruth rolled his eyes, though they hinted at a smile.

"As I tell everyone who points this out, I keep the rest of my party in mind when it comes to gold, and even a druid needs some coin to purchase supplies or board while in civilization if he travels as I do." The druid turned and walked towards the exit, Ky'itae close in tow.

"Good point." The bard conceded, emptying out the chest before him and pulling his pouch closed. Weighing little more than it had when he first took it out, Celdern returned the magical pouch to his pack and stood up.

Miri finished filling her own pouch soon after, tying the container to her sash. She rose and dusted herself off, sending a wink in the men's direction. "Well, Serosa'ruth may have little need for money, but Waukeen wouldn't mind her cleric gathering a little wealth for herself and some to give to the masses."

"Sure, whatever, you greedy little Calishite." Celdern rolled his green eyes and followed Serosa'ruth and Ky'itae out the door. Miri growled, opening her mouth to retort, when she realized there had been more amusement than malice in the bard's tone. She closed her lip and sighed through her nose, rolling her own hazel eyes as she tailed after the others.

- - - - -

The four adventurers retraced their steps and noted a passage to the east they'd missed before. Following the new path, they soon came upon an encampment of a dozen orcs. They paused, staying out of sight and sound of the preoccupied orcs. Serosa'ruth scanned the local terrain, then held up one finger to indicate to the other three to hold their ground. He muttered something in Druidic lowly, his hand beginning to glow a dull gray. He swung his fist forward, and suddenly, a giant fist made of stone burst from the wall ahead and slammed into the unsuspecting orcs, slamming them into the opposite end of the cavern. The orcs splattered against the rock, leaving a bloody and gooey mess.

"Gross and crude, but… it worked." Ky'itae chuckled grimly.

"I'd hate to clean up after that." Miri scrunched up her face.

"I'd hate to piss our druid friend off." Celdern scrunched up his red eyebrows.

Serosa'ruth rolled his eyes with a hidden smile. "With a dozen of them, I just wanted to get it over with quickly. Come on, let's keep going." They continued down the eastern path. They eventually reached a large wrought iron gate.

"Looks kinda tough." Miri noted, looking at the solid metal.

"Yeah, but the lock's on this side, and it doesn't look that hard." Celdern countered. He slashed at the lock with his scimitar, only to get it caught. Growling, the bard yanked his blade free, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Miri smirked. "Not as soft as you thought, huh Tethyrian?" She brushed past the bard, "Lucky for you, I have a few handy spells prepared." The cleric pressed her slender, tanned fingers against the lock and muttered an incantation. She stepped back, and a moment later the lock shattered, its remains dropping to the floor.

Serosa'ruth nodded in approval, moving to push open the great gates. "Nice work." Ky'itae aided him once again while Miri stuck her tongue out at Celdern.

"Feh." The bard grumbled, pushing the gate open with the elves. It opened with a loud groan and the four walked into the large cavern.

"Great, we've got another Faelar and Saeola in the party." Ky'itae whispered to Serosa'ruth, who laughed lowly.

"I dunno, they're not flirting so much as bickering and trying to outdo each other like siblings do." The male elf grinned.

"This is true." Ky'itae admitted, then looked about at the intricate dwarven carvings about the wall and the immense cavern surrounding them all. "Whoa…"

"Must have been a Great Hall for gatherings or somesuch…" Celdern surmised, then spotted the burnt skeletons against the wall to their left. "…I'm betting there's a firetrap there. We should stay back."

"You think?" Miri rolled her eyes, then looked over to see four dead orcs… and some other small, strange creatures she didn't recognize. "Looks like Faelar and Saeola were here already."

"Well, hopefully it was them and not something else." Ky'itae furrowed her thin eyebrows. Serosa'ruth knelt down to inspect the orcan corpses. He ran his gloved fingers over the gash marks, inspecting the cuts.

"No, it was our half-elf companions. These wounds were made by a rapier, and those," he pointed to another dead orc, "by a dagger or short sword. I'm guessing they were wounded, because a small trail of blood leads off over here…" The druid followed the blood stains until they stopped just before a flight of stone steps leading downwards. "Hm… I guess they healed themselves, but I would say it's safe to assume they went down these steps, eh guys?" He looked back at his companions, who nodded in agreement.

"I'd say." Ky'itae crossed her gauntlet-covered arms. "Let's go, shall we?"

"Yes, let's." Celdern nodded, motioning his short leader onward.

"Into the abyss, then." Serosa'ruth chuckled grimly, descending down the stone steps.

"Ugh, could you pick a less creepy metaphor?" Miri shivered, following the others down into the dark stairway.

_Sorry, I've been busy with schoolwork and such, and SL's been tied up with the same. I've talked with her on the phone, but I haven't had a chance to write with her for a while. This chapter was done all by me, but it might be tweaked around later if SL wants to add/change anything, so keep that in mind. I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker than this one if I can. Thanks for reading, guys!_

_Oh, two final notes: I keep forgetting to mention this, but the locations mentioned recent (as in, since about chapter 13) are roughly based around the DnD Adventure "The Forge of Fury." Some things have been changed around, some have remained relatively similar to the campaign, so I figured I should cite that as the basis of this particular venture the crew's on. It's the only quest in Stuck with You that's based specifically after a pre-existing campaign, though._

_Also, reviews are GREATLY appreciated, and it's easier to get motivated when there's feedback, good or not. Though, if you review, please, don't just say "great story" or "this sucks"; tell us WHY you like it or not; you don't have to give a detailed review, just something like, "I love the humor/Faelar's great" or "I think you need to add more description/this part was hard to understand" or some such that can give me and SL at least a general idea of what we're doing right (or wrong). Thanks!_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The two half-elves had left the small entrance cavern filled with sleeping striges and into a much larger cave, its ceiling reaching some forty or more feet over their heads. A fast-flowing stream some five feet wide split the large room in two, in front of two exits and through a third.

"Looks like we can't avoid getting our feet wet, huh?" Saeola whispered with a sigh.

Faelar nodded in agreement, inspecting the last exit to the south, the one the stream flowed through. It was only three feet tall, the water filling it halfway. The thief crept closer, noting several tracks of some creature.

"They look like a large bird or some reptile made them." Saeola noted, leaning over the rogue's shoulder to examine them herself.

"Yeah… I doubt it's any bird, though. Not at dis depth, not naturally." Faelar flicking the loop earrings on one pointed ear, thinking.

"…You're not seriously considering going through there?" His ranger partner asked incredulously, raising her black eyebrows.

"'Ey, now my curiosity's piqued. I gotta see whot's ova dere." Faelar dipped a hand into the stream to test the temperature and current. Not nearly strong enough to sweep him away, but the liquid was rather cold.

"Are you nuts?" Saeola whapped him lightly in the head. "There's no telling where this leads, or if you'll even have enough space to move and breathe further down!"

"Well, dove," Faelar grinned, ignoring her slap, "Only one way ta find out." And with that, the mischievous half-elf hopped into the stream, the water rising to his chest. He crawled through the gap, soon disappearing down the path.

Saeola sighed, blowing her bangs up for a brief moment. "I must be insane." She muttered, wading in after Faelar and following the rogue down the stream. Even with her Darkvision, the passage ahead was hard to make out. The ranger barely managed to distinguish the spots of reddish-orange heat that marked Faelar.

Her companion gurgled something back to her, but before Saeola could reply, she felt water rush into her nose and resisted the urge to gasp. The ceiling dipped down lower here, no more than six inches above the water. It didn't last long before it rose again, but the feeling of ice cold water clearing her nostrils didn't thrill the ranger very much.

The moment she climbed out of the passage and of the stream, into another large cavern, Saeola snatched Faelar by his goatee and pulled him over to her, inches from her face as she growled, still trying to clear the unwanted water from her nose.

"Dammit, Faelar! Why don't you warn me about these things!" She snarled.

"'Ey, I wos tryin' ta, but da water came up too fast fer me to get it out in da air." Faelar defended himself. "Ya think I _like_ getting' water up me nose?" Saeola noted the drip from his own nostrils, thanks to the low stream. Grumbling in defeat, she released his facial hair and pushed him back, still mildly irked.

Faelar rubbed his slightly sore chin, then glanced down at his companion and smirked. "Bit cold in da water, whozonit?"

"Of course it was cold, you moron!" Saeola huffed, "We're probably a frickin' mile underground in a cavern, why wouldn't it b—" She stopped, realizing where his gaze drifted. She glanced down at herself, then blushed furiously, quickly covering her breasts. Saeola attempted to slap Faelar, though the thief easily dodged the blow. "Pervert!" She hissed.

Faelar opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly, a horrible stench attacked the half-elves' nostrils. Coughing, the pair glanced around the cave, finally noticing the gruesome remains of game animals hanging from the wall on wooden stakes. Another glance showed two orc corpses held up in the same manner.

"Eh… Dat's not a goo—" Before Faelar could finish, Saeola pushed him down, a large dart zipping through the space between them, right where the thief's neck had been a moment before.

"One debt paid, two to go, rogue." Saeola smirked, though her face turned serious quickly as she withdrew her sword to face their newest enemy.

Faelar deftly hopped back onto his feet, his dagger and short sword already in hand. Seeing the pair of scaly humanoids before them, he chuckled. "True enough. Ya only owe me two, now."

The snarling monsters flung two more javelins at the half-elves. Now on guard, however, the adventurers easily dodged and closed in on their opponents. The one facing Saeola had used up its weapons, and so it charged at her with its mouth wide open and claws extended. Faelar's foe still had one javelin left, and attempted to hit the thief with it before also resorting to its natural weapons.

The ranger screwed up her face in disgust as she exchanged blows with the troglodyte. "Awful" was an understatement to the stench that emitted from the cave beast. Fighting back nausea, Saeola ducked a swipe aimed at her face, responding with a swift slash across the monster's chest. It screeched in pain, allowing the woman a chance to drive her rapier through its heart, ending the threat.

Faelar had somehow managed to leap atop his troglodyte and was annoying the creature by persistently poking its head with his blades, avoiding all attacks aimed at him.

"Stop goofing off and kill him, dammit!" Saeola huffed, annoyed.

"Fine, fine." Faelar rolled his eyes, driving Quickdeath through the unfortunate humanoid's skull. He withdrew the dagger and leapt off the dead monster in one fluid motion, his feet hitting the ground the same instant the troglodyte did.

Saeola sighed, swishing her blade clean and sheathing it. Gagging, the stench of the dead troglodytes lingered in her nostrils, as did the stench from the game hung about on the walls. "Ugh. Let's just get out of here. It reeks."

"M'kay… 'Ow 'bout dat door ova dere?" Faelar, his weapons sheathed, pointed to a plug made out of mud some twenty feet away.

"Can't we just head back the way we came?" Saeola argued, figuring it was the safer route. Her plea fell on deaf ears, as before the final words reached her lips, Faelar was already at the plug, tugging it open with a bit of effort.

The ranger smacked her face in irritation, sighing as the thief disappeared through the doorway. "I swear, this idiot's gonna be the death of me." Taking her longbow in hand and notching an arrow in place – just to be safe – the half-elf followed through the opening.

The duo entered a long cavern that soon broke up into narrow, twisting passages trailing off into the darkness. Though not very tall themselves, Saeola and Faelar had to crouch slightly to fit inside, as the ceiling only went about five feet above the ground. The same horrible stench from the troglodytes filled the air, and the half-elf pair soon noticed more animal remains.

"We really should go back," Saeola warned – or rather, started to warn before something hissed ahead. Detecting the low heat outline of another troglodyte, the ranger cursed and fell to one knee, allowing her more space to aim and shoot her arrow. The missile weapon flew true, lodging itself into the monster's forehead. Before the dead creature hit the ground, another sprang forward.

This one also met a quick end when three small, needlelike daggers dug into its throat. The troglodyte gurgled and expired. Faelar squatted at the ready, three more throwing needles already between his fingers in each hand.

"Backtrack?" The thief suggested, the stench beginning to overwhelm him.

"That's the first intelligent I've heard you say today, if not ever." Saeola snorted, retracing her steps to the mud door while Faelar covered her back. Only one more troglodyte ventured out towards the pair, but the rogue quickly dispatched it with a flurry of needles embedded into its head.

The half-elves returned to the main cavern, pushing the door closed behind them. Faelar muttered something archaic, pressing his gloved hands against the door. With a low flash, the mud warped into stone, merging with the wall.

"Dere. Nothin's gonna follow us from dere, now." He nodded.

Saeola moved to whap him in the head for dragging them in there in the first place, but the thief had already moved on to examine the pond some fifty feet to their left, barely visible with their infrared vision. "Dammit, Faelar!"

Faelar ignored the ranger as she jogged up behind him, leaning down to test the waters. Just as the stream, it was near ice-cold, but he sensed no magical aura in the water, benign or otherwise.

Already knowing his intent by now, Saeola waved her arms in protest. "Faelar, no! We're still soaking wet from the damn stream, and—" The thief ventured into the waist-deep water and began splashing towards the other end. "Fuck it. Why do I bother?" Sighing, she pressed her gloved hands over her eyes for a moment, moving them high to push and grasp her bangs in resigned annoyance. Grumbling, she swung her bow over her shoulders and waded in after Faelar, cursing herself and the rogue the entire way.

- - - - -

The half-elf pair splashed through the pond, coming to another stream. Faelar continued down the waterway, Saeola grumpily following. A few yards down, they noticed an opening to their right leading into a cave. However, they wisely ignored it when they heard hisses from some large lizard-like creature coming from inside. As a precaution, however, Saeola withdrew her rapier once again, and this time kept it at the ready.

Not too far after the suspicious cave opening, the adventurers came into yet another large cavern. Though the stream continued farther into the room, Faelar felt the current pick up very suddenly, and quickly climbed out of the water, Saeola following suite. The ranger saw the wisdom in this action as she climbed out, noting that the stream ended in a waterfall, its exact depths unknown from her vantage point.

She also noted a thin layer of mossy slime on the rock floor near the stream. "Best stay away from there, you'd probably slip right into the stream, and that's obviously not good." She motioned her head towards the waterfall.

Faelar glanced her way and nodded, refraining from commenting as he walked across the cavern, staying clear of the slippery ground.

"You know, we've been here for a few hours," Saeola went on with a huff, squeezing some water out of her cape with her free hand. "Maybe we should just call it a night here. I don't see any immediate danger."

"Eh, I wanna see where dese lead, dove." Faelar pointed to a small stone stairway descending into the darkness some yards in front of them. "Ya can stop if you want, but I wanna look down dere ferst. If dere's nuffink bad down dere, I'm gonna settle dere. If not… Well," He grinned widely, "I'll clear it out, den come back up 'ere."

Saeola snorted. "Knowing your knack of finding trouble? I think it's best I watch your back."

"'Ey, I can 'andle myself." Faelar stuck his tongue out at her as he slowly walked down the steps, keeping one hand to the wall to preserve his balance, should he slip in his wet boots.

"Sure you can." Saeola chuckled, waiting until he was a few paces ahead before following.

"'Ey, 'ow many life savin's d'ya owe me?"

It was her turn to stick out her tongue, even though his face was turned. "Hey, only two now, thief. Don't forget about that javelin so quickly."

"Point taken, point taken." The rogue chuckled, reaching the end of the steps. He looked around, none too surprised to find himself in yet another large cavern. The sound of rushing water filled his ears; apparently, the waterfall ended up here. To his right was another pond and a stream flowing from it, and rushing into the opposite end of the pond was a narrow waterfall, perhaps some sixty feet in height.

Hands on his hips, Faelar strolled about the area, looking for any exits or dangers. The stream flowed through a narrow opening, but judging by its swift current, it was one trail even he wouldn't want to try. To the south he noted another natural passage deeper into the caves, while to the east were two old wooden doors.

Saeola whistled lowly behind him. "Wow. It's… beautiful."

Faelar had to agree, now that his attention turned to the actual atmosphere of the place. The spray from the waterfall caused the very rock walls to glisten, while strange, colorful minerals and lichens lent some light to the area, giving it a sort of unearthly beauty. The wild half-elf man knelt near the pond, noticing small cavefish and white crayfish swimming about.

"All righ'," He sighed, wading into the water, which only went up to his knees this time. The fish scattered as he entered. "Dere's nuffink dangerous in 'ere dat I can see, so I think 'ere's a good place ta settle fer da night."

Saeola raised an eyebrow, "You plan to sleep in the pond?" She asked sarcastically.

Chuckling, Faelar shook his head, moving towards the middle of the pond. He raised his voice to be heard over the waterfall, "Nah, I kin see dere's a small cave behind da waterfall from 'ere. Jus' cuz dis area is safe now, doesn't mean it'll be dat way all night. Dere's three entrances into dis cavern – four iffun ya count da stairs we took – who knows what might wander inta 'ere while we sleep? At least behind da waterfall, we'll be hidden."

"'_We_?'" Saeola smirked, "What makes you think I'm gonna follow you again?" Faelar turned to look at her, the water now up to his groin.

Grinning, he simply stated, "It's whotcha been doin' all day, dove." With a wink, he turned around and continued on his way.

Conceding his point – both about her following and it being safer behind the waterfall – the ranger trudged into the ice-cold water. "If I die from hypothermia, I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of your life."

Faelar barked a short laugh, "Fair 'nuff, dove. Fair 'nuff."

_

* * *

_

_Well, I managed to get that up fairly quick as well… Though as stated in the last chapter, since SL didn't co-write this part and hasn't seen it yet, it might be changed around later if she has stuff to add/edit. If there are any typos/errors/etc, please let me know. It's almost 3:00 a.m. now, and I have an 8:30 class, so I can't be arsed to thoroughly proofread this right now._

_Feedback is great (and it motivates the writers to move their butts a bit faster), but PLEASE: WRITE MORE THAN "WONDERFUL/GREAT PLOT/GOOD STORY/ETC" **WHY** is it so good or bad? Be just a little more specific, **please**. "Great plot" doesn't do me or SL any good other than maybe a little ego boost – which is nice and all, but does nothing to let us know what exactly we're doing right. Not to mention, some readers (like myself) look at reviews first to gain a little more insight on the gist of the story, and "great plot" doesn't give them much of an idea of what's going on… Even just something like "I love Faelar, he's hilarious" or whatnot would be of help… Just… Please, be a bit less vague than "good story" if you're going to review._

_…I'll stop ranting now. _

_One last note to "i": Wow. Thanks for the review… though I actually wasn't talking about you, but another reader who's written a lot of two-word reviews (you know who you are, and I'm happy you like the story, but please add a bit more to your reviews)… Sorry 'bout that, but… yeah… dang. Long review. Woot! _

_As for Celdern, well, when your friends are already dead and you can't bring them back, you kinda just need to get your butt out of the situation. It's not that he doesn't care, he's just accepted it as a fact of life… That's how he is… But… hmm… If that was your reaction to him, that means I should probably flesh him out a little more… thanks for pointing that out! _

_Oh, and if anyone's interested in seeing what the characters look like or perhaps a drawing of one of the scenes from here (I'm actually more of an artist than a writer), send me an e-mail (it's in my author profile) and I'll gladly share some drawings... I've got plenty, trust me._

_Now, I must sleep…. Zzzzzzzz _


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The four adventurers trekked down the long stone spiral stairway, keeping alert for anything that might wish to attack them. They walked in silence for several minutes, until Miri, uneasy with the stillness, decided to break it. She turned to look up at their bardic companion, a few questions on her mind that she'd long since wanted answered.

"So, Tethyrian," she began, managing to remove any icy tones from her voice at the moment, "We're further than you ever went before, right?"

Celdern lowered his emerald eyes to the short cleric, raising one red eyebrow and scrunching up the other in suspicion and bemusement. "Yes, why? Are you going to imply that I'm now useless since I can't guide you all anymore?"

Miri shook her head, stretching her arms outward. She clasped her fingers together as she stretched, releasing them and relaxing her arms at her sides a moment later. "No, not at all. You're at least halfway decent in a fight." She admitted.

The bard narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh, _thanks_." He grumbled sarcastically. "What do you want, then?"

She shrugged. "Just trying to make conversation."

"Why don't you bother the elves, then?" He queried, glancing ahead at their shorter, pointy-eared companions, who seemed to be tuning them out.

"Well, there're just a few things that've been bothering me about you," Miri confessed, wrapping her arms around herself as the temperature dropped the lower they went. She hated the cold – she _was_ a desert girl, after all.

"You mean aside from the fact I'm a Tethyrian?" He snorted.

Miri bit back a retort and sighed, "I'm serious."

"So was I."

Resisting another temptation to lash out at the bard, Miri inhaled, then exhaled slowly. "Who was in the last party you traveled with? You know, the ones that didn't make it back."

This caught Celdern by surprise. He blinked at her, taking a moment absorb her question and debating whether or not to answer it. Curious as to where this line of questioning was going, he decided to comply – for the moment. "They were… friends, though I didn't know them very long."

"Didn't know them long?" Miri repeated, raising her dark eyebrows in interest.

He rubbed his neck, a bit hesitant. "I met them when I first came to Blasingdell from my home, some… Four, maybe five months ago, I think. I never intended to stay in that town for so long, honestly. I meant to travel out more, to find new stories, to weave new legends. I mean, I didn't delve into the bardic arts just to play music."

"So the moment you came into that map, you wanted to look into it." Miri guessed, and correctly so, as she noted when the bard nodded.

"Yes. I'd already been contemplating exploring Stone Tooth for some time, since local legends about Khundrukar have been around the local area for ages. When a retired mage gave me that map in payment for a performance, I figured it couldn't hurt to try and see if it was legitimate."

"I suppose it was, considering where we are now." Miri grinned. Celdern returned the smile, though his held little genuine mirth, his mind now elsewhere.

"This is true." He nodded, stepping over a small rock on the stairs. "Darvin and Pavel were eager to get out of Blasingdell as well, so they came along."

"Ah, so you finally call them by name." Miri noted, still keeping any tone of judgment out of her voice for the moment. Celdern raised an eyebrow again, but only shrugged in reply. "Had any of you ever gone adventuring before?"

"A little, but not much." Celdern admitted, scratching his small beard as he thought back. "Darvin was some thief that was too afraid to venture far from Blasingdell on his own. Figured anything beyond the walls of the city could kill him quickly if he didn't have a partner or two. Pavel wanted to join the Radiant Heart in Athkatla and become a paladin. If you ask me, he already was one in every way but title. I'm impressed those two got along as well as they did. We were such an odd bunch." He shook his head, a small smile reaching the corners of his lips.

Before she realized the words escaped her lips, Miri commented, "You speak fondly of ones you don't seem to value very much."

Celdern stopped in his tracks and turned to the Calishite slowly, his nine-inch height difference towering over the cleric, despite being on a lower step than her. "_Excuse me?_" he growled.

The elves paused as well, looking over their shoulders at the humans.

"Uh-oh." Serosa'ruth muttered from beneath his mask.

Too late to retract her comment, Miri instead plowed on, matching Celdern's steely gaze with her own. "You claim to have known them for many months, and even speak of them as good friends, yet you seem to hold no remorse for their death. I mean, you really didn't seem bothered by the fact the orcs here killed them off, even when we returned to their place of death. Are all your companions so unimportant to you?"

At first, Ky'itae thought the bard was going to hit the other human. Instead, Celdern grabbed the cleric's desert robes and pulled her up to him, bringing them face-to-face.

"How _dare_ you!" He snarled, "How DARE you claim I don't care about my friends and traveling companions!"

Seemingly unaffected by the fact she dangled over half a foot in the air, Miri spat back, "Well, as I said, you sure seem to get over the murder of comrades quite easily! You seemed to abandon them pretty quickly when the orcs struck them down!"

The bard resisted the urge to shake her, but not by much. "Why you pretentious wench! For _your_ information, Darvin was detected by the orcs when he tried to spy on them. He warned us of the incoming numbers – numbers two humans could never hope to beat on their own – just before they struck him down. Pavel and I fled for the entrance, but the orcs chased us through. He held them off so I could escape, cutting the rope bridge just after I crossed it, so I couldn't return to die with him. What was I supposed to do?"

"If that rope bridge was cut, how was it there when WE crossed it?" Miri snapped.

"It's been tendays since I was last here! Don't you think the orcs would've rebuilt it?" The bard growled.

"Gee, you could have _shared_ that tidbit of information when we got trapped in here after it was cut again!"

"Well, I'm sorry, _priestess_," Celdern pressed his face against hers so that their noses mashed together, "But I think the fact that we all nearly DIED falling into that pit made it a bit HARD for me to think straight just then."

"That's no excuse, and get your face out of mine!" Miri pushed his head away from her. "Even if you couldn't get to him, you sure don't care that they're both dead."

"Just because I don't cry or outwardly mourn over them doesn't mean I don't care!" This time, Celdern did shake her. "Unlike _some_ people here, I know when it's time to move on, but that doesn't mean I don't keep them in my heart."

"Oh, wow, you have a heart? _That's_ news to me." Miri snorted once he stopped shaking her.

"Bold words coming from someone who probably owned a slave or two in her life!"

_**SMACK!**_

Miri's hand snapped across the bard's cheek. Surprised, Celdern released the cleric, who managed to land back on her feet gracefully. The taller human touched his stinging cheek for only a second, then glowered at the tan woman. "You little bitch!" He pulled his hand back to punch her as Miri's hand darted towards her daggers.

The flat end of a longsword slapping against each of their heads stunned them out of their squabble.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Serosa'ruth roared, coming between them, both blades in hand. "You two don't have to like each other, but for now, we're in the depths of a _fucking _cavern filled with HUNDREDS of creatures I'm sure would love to kill us in thousands of nasty ways. Keep your prejudices to yourselves for now, because, like it or not, we're a team, dammit! _Dos_ _rivven_ _morfeth uns'aa viggtu, Usstan swariy!_" The druid snapped his swords back into place with his last sentence, his cape swooshing about as he turned swiftly.

Both humans blinked at their party leader, stunned by his outburst, and neither understanding, nor recognizing the language in his last statement. They looked at each other dumbly, but before they could say anymore, a low buzzing noise filled everyone's ears.

"What in Toril is tha—" Ky'itae's question died as a score of strange, almost birdlike creatures flew up the stairs, coming at them all.

"Dammit, I hate these things." Serosa'ruth growled, taking his swords out again. His three companions quickly armed themselves as well.

"What are they?" Celdern asked, cutting through one of the monsters as it went for his face.

"Striges." Serosa'ruth answered grimly, "Our noise must've woken them up." His longswords sliced through half a dozen monsters in two strokes, "They're not too bad individually, but in a group like this, they can be nasty. Be mindful – they latch onto other creatures and drain blood."

"Eww, that's disgusting." Miri scrunched up her face to emphasize the sediment, waving her daggers at the striges to keep them at bay.

Ky'itae swung her bastard sword at the flying beasts, but her heavier weapon made it easier for the striges to dodge her. The moon elf cried in surprise and mild pain when one of the creatures got tangled up in her ponytail. Putting away her sword, the elf cursed and attempted to untangle the strige from her hair.

Serosa'ruth dropped to his knees as a large group of striges flew by. He put his swords down and held his hands up, muttering in Druidic. A strong gust of wind sent the creatures spiraling down the stairway, the force of the magical wind bunching them together. While they were distracted, Serosa'ruth quickly jumped up with his swords, cutting through all off the monsters in a scissors-like movement.

The humans picked off the last of the striges while Ky'itae still struggled to get the final one out of her brown locks. Chuckling and shaking his head, Serosa'ruth reached into his boot, pulling out a small dagger. He flung the weapon out, impaling the strige, which gave a shriek and expired. Its death stopped the struggle, allowing Ky'itae to remove it from her hair. She looked at the mess the monster had made of her hair – knots of tangles everywhere – and she noted some of its blood had stained her dark locks.

"Thanks, I think." She muttered to her best friend, who laughed as he retrieved his dagger.

"I have a comb you can borrow, if you want…" Miri offered, stifling a laugh. Ky'itae screwed up her face, running her fingers through her tied up hair to remove the lesser tangles. She shrugged in response to the Calishite's offer.

"Maybe later. We should just keep going."

"Good idea, 'frizzy.'" Celdern sniggered, earning a glare from the elven fighter and a snort of laughter from his other two comrades. Miri quickly ended hers in a cough, remembering her grudge with the Tethyrian once more.

"Yes, well… Let's go, then." She muttered, avoiding Celdern's gaze as she walked ahead with the elves.

Celdern briefly mused continuing his argument with Miri, but let it go. Serosa'ruth was right. Now wasn't the time for such things. With a resigned sigh, the bard followed his three shorter companions down the stairs and further into the caves.

_

* * *

_

_Sorry for the long wait… What was it, a little over a month? Gah. I've just been real busy and working on other projects (art, mostly) in my free time. When I finally did make myself sit down and write this chapter, however, it didn't take more than a few hours. So, I'll do my best to force myself to stop getting distracted and write the next installment sooner. I'm still "filling in the gap" now, and I have a feeling this Khundrukar quest will still take at least two, probably three (or even more) chapters to finish, but once that's done with, we're back to the parts SL and I wrote, with fewer "gaps" for me to fill for a while, so updates should be quicker for a time._

_The next chapter will probably be a bit longer due to the stuff I wanna fit into it… I usually keep these to about 4 pages, but the next one might be twice as long. We'll see how it goes. Feedback is VERY appreciated, but please write more than "your story rocks/this sux/etc" if you do…_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Faelar seated himself at the back of cave, removing his bracers and pulling off his sopping leather shirt in the process. He wiped the dripping water out of his eyes, wringing out his clothes afterward. Saeola entered the small space soon after, her dark bangs sticking to her forehead. The ranger spat water out of her mouth, unclasping her cloak in the same movement. She squeezed the excess water out of her cloak, sighing as she did so. Saeola looked up to notice that her thief companion had removed his boots and pants, squeezing and shaking them free of as much water as he possibly could.

The older half-elf felt warm blood rush into her cheeks. "What in the hells are you doing!" She screeched. Faelar looked up at her, blinking.

"Whot? 'Ey, you're not da only one 'oo doesn't wanna catch hypothermia." The rogue stressed his point with a slight shiver, shaking his clothes out again.

"Well… don't you have some sort of spell to dry them off or something?" Saeola asked in both irritation and mild dread. The other wild half-elf always seemed to have a spell on hand for virtually anything, though he claimed to hardly be adept at it. She wasn't thrilled of the prospect of stripping down with the pervert around. True, she still had a change of clothes in her pack that should still be dry – she thanked the gods for waterproof enchantments on the bag – but she would still have to change out of her current attire first.

He blinked his chocolate eyes at her once more, "No, no I don't. If I did, doncha think I woulda used it by now, before I took off my clothes?"

Saeola sighed again, ending in a shiver. He had a point, as much as she hated to admit. "Please tell me you have something dry to change into."

"Well, 'o course I do. I'm not an idiot." Faelar grinned. "Granted, it ain't my nice leather armor, but it'll do. You should change too, dove. Ain't a good idea ta keep standin' around in dose wet clothes."

His companion narrowed her eyes, "Not unless you turn around, you pervert. And no funny business, either."

The teenaged thief clutched his chest, mocking a blow from one of her arrows, "I'm 'urt, dove. Would I really peek at ya changing?"

"…Yes."

"…True enough." He grinned widely, but turned around and faced the back of the cave wall nonetheless. "Go 'head. I give ya full permission ta beat me senseless if I even twitch my 'ead in da wrong direction, all righ'?"

Saeola snorted, pulling her green shirt over her head, "Fair enough, I'll keep you to that." Somehow managing to keep her eyes trained on the thief's back the next few minutes, the ranger pulled off her wet outfit and changed into her only set of dry garments – her spare underwear and under-tunic. As she pulled the white shirt back on, she sighed yet again, hoping she wouldn't have to go out in the water again any time soon. "I'm finished, you can go now."

Not bothering to ask the other half-elf to turn around – he was already in his loincloth, after all – Faelar pulled on an old brown tunic. Saeola eyed his choice in clothing.

"Do you own anything that isn't brown?" she snorted.

"Do ya own anythin' dat isn't green?" he retorted.

"Touché."

Chuckling, Faelar squatted down and extended his – for once – bare hands while muttering lowly in some language Saeola didn't recognize. Magical red flames shot from his fingers and onto the cavern ground, the Weave allowing the warm fire to sustain itself without wood or other fuel. Whistling casually, the rogue browsed through his backpack before pulling out a few long wooden poles – far too long to have fit inside his pack naturally.

Saeola seated herself on the opposite side of the fire, raising one leg up to bend at the knee. She rested her elbow on said knee, and her chin in her now-supported palm, her slender fingers lying against her dark cheek. "Let me guess," she smirked, "a Bag of Holding, huh?"

"No good thief leave 'ome witout it." Faelar laughed in answer, setting up the poles into a stand to hang their clothes over the fire. "Best I can do to dry them faster fer now."

"Hey, what works, works." She shrugged, helping him hang clothes onto the stand. Their work completed, Saeola looked through her own belongings for food. "Damn." She pulled out a small loaf of half-stale bread, a half-empty flask of water, and day old meat wrapped in paper. "It's not much, but oh well. If we make it out of here, remind me to restock." She ripped off a piece of bread and handed it to Faelar, who thanked her and instantly began munching on his food.

"Don' worry," he commented between bites, "I'm used ta scraps."

Carefully holding the meat above the flames in an attempt to cook it, Saeola glanced up at the thief with a frown. "You really are a typical rogue, aren't you? Living in poverty while in Waterdeep or something?"

Faelar shrugged. "Sort of, I guess. Afta me mum moved us from da Chondalwood an' inta Waterdeep, we didun 'ave a lot o' money left – well, neva had much ta begin wit – but it was enough to keep us livin' somewhere between poverty an' lower middle class. Many were betta off dan us, but many were also worse. Mum made a moderate livin' on tailoring clothes; spent most of 'er profits ta send me ta sorcerer's school. Got expensive afta a few years, though, so she started buying an' eatin' less food fer 'erself – gave most of it ta me. I started nicking da pockets offa da richer folk dat wandered around so she could afford ta feed 'erself as well."

"Did she know where you got this spare money from?" Saeola raised an eyebrow. Faelar smirked, though it lacked the usual mirth behind it.

"Nah. I told 'er I got a job at da academy ta work at afta classes. I con't say I wos ashamed o' my thieving – 'onestly, neva was, since I only stole from dose dat could afford to lose some extra change – but I know my mum wouldn't buy anythin' wit money she knew was stolen, 'ence why she never found out it wos."

Saeola snorted. "Always the little sneaky bastard, I see. Didn't you ever try to get a _real_ job?"

"Now, where's the fun in dat?" He grinned, stroking his drying goatee. "But seriously… eventually, yeah. I 'elped out at da school like I wos tellin' me mum, but dey didun pay much, so I continued pickpocketin' in my free time."

"So, where's you mom now?" The ranger asked, though she felt she already knew the answer.

"Eh, whereva we go when we die, I 'spose." Faelar shrugged, unperturbed. "She's betta off, I think. Neva wos da same after me Da died." He stretched, "Nothin' can really be done abou' either of 'em now, anyway. Whot 'bout your parents, dove?"

"Same as yours." She sighed, still resting her head in one hand, waving the other off in the air, still clutching to the meat. "I wouldn't be surprised if half the adventurers you see are orphans, or might as well be. It seems to be a common trend or something among our kind."

"Funny thin dat is, huh?" Faelar chuckled, finishing off his bread. "Maybe dose wit a family are less willing ta risk dere lives out in Faerûn, eh? Guess dose of us wit a strong wanderlust an' nothin' ta come back to 'ave nothin' ta lose, or at least we believe we got nothin'."

"I suppose." Saeola sighed, poking to see if her meat was finished. It wasn't. "Still, what about those that travel in groups like we do? Don't friends count for something?"

"Ah, so the sarcastic, cranky ranger admits ta 'aving friends?" His teeth showed fully through his smartass smile.

"Oh, shut-up." Rolling her eyes, Saeola leaned against the stone wall, taking a bite out of her half-cooked meat. "The others aren't so bad, though I'm still wondering why I put up with _you_." She sent the other half-elf a steely glare.

Faelar brushed off the leer effortlessly, long ago accustomed to such looks from the other half-breed adventurer. Pulling his blanket from his pack, he wrapped the cloth around himself and also leaned back. "Aw, c'mon, dove. Ya know I'm irresistible."

"Whatever." Saeola ripped a piece of meat off and tossed it to him, which he caught with ease. "You just like to annoy me to no end all year round."

"Life would be boring otherwise."

Pulling out her own blanket, Saeola resisted the urge to smack him. _At least he hasn't pulled anything since you got into this waterfall cave._ "You're just lucky I'm too tired at the moment to kill you."

"Oh, I'm so flattered." He sniggered.

Saeola's eye twitched as she covered herself, but she resisted the temptation a second time. "So, are we going to keep watch at all?"

"I doubt anythin' will find us 'ere," Faelar shrugged, "but in case the others come by, it'd be a good idea. I'll go ferst. You look more tired den I do."

"You're so kind." Saeola grumbled sarcastically, curling up into a ball and soon allowing herself to drift off into a weary slumber.

- - - - -

The four had remained silent since their incident with the last pack of striges, though the two humans sent icy glares at one another on occasion. Serosa'ruth sighed, rubbing his forehead as he always did when agitated. Reaching the bottom of the steps, the male elf walked out towards the center of the new cavern they'd reached. The short party leader observed the two obvious exits from the area, then noticed the small stream leading into yet another, but tighter, passage. Resting his gauntleted hands on the back of his hips, Serosa'ruth paced about the large room, keeping his keen ears and eyes trained for any important signs of danger or safe passage.

After a few minutes of more silence, the druid finished his examination and settled for the exit in the southeast corner of the cave. He hopped over the flowing water, followed soon after by his companions, all of them keeping their weapons close at hand and their muscles tensed. The quartet moved through another slim passage, though it left enough space to let them walk two by two.

The narrow walkway soon emptied out into yet another large cavern, this one much larger than the previous one. It stretched out some two-hundred feet in length, its ceiling reaching fifty or more feet in some places. Strange, yet beautiful flows and structures of delicate stone graced the chamber. The western area of the great cave where the four stood was separated from the rest of the cavern by a steep drop-off that Serosa'ruth estimated to be about twenty feet high. The ceiling directly above their heads was half the height of the rest of the chamber.

The adventurers looked around their immediate surroundings and noted that a couple dozen large stone sepulchers lined the cavern walls, each painstakingly carved with intricate reliefs and designs, all marked with Dwarven runes.

"Tombs of the dwarves that once lived here, I'd bet." Ky'itae noted, breaking the silence.

"There's only twenty-three here." Celdern added after counting, "so I'll bet this is only a small handful of the survivors against the orc raid before they perished."

"Should we search the coffins?" Miri queried, knowing there was at least a moderate chance of items of value within some of the tombs, yet unsure as to whether they really should rob the dead dwarves in their own sanctuary.

"I can't read Dwarven runes, so I'm unsure if there are any curses placed upon these tombs or not." Serosa'ruth sighed. "I wouldn't risk it, and I don't know if I'd want to rob Dwarven tombs, regardless." Mentally, he found this last sediment somewhat ironic, as he and his party had picked fallen foes clean before with no remorse. Morality worked in strange ways, indeed.

The three others mumbled in agreement.

"So, what now?" Celdern asked, looking down the bluff past the last row of tombs.

Pulling out a long piece of rope from his small, enchanted pocket pack, Serosa'ruth began tying one end to a tomb. "We'll attempt to scale the drop. It's too far to just jump the whole way, but we should be fine with this rope. It'll get us most of the way down, after which we can just jump."

"I'll go first." Ky'itae offered, "I may be the smallest in the bunch, but I'll bet I can take a hard impact better than the rest of you in case it doesn't work, plus I also react fairly quick and can probably lessen the force of the landing should my decent quicken suddenly."

"Good idea." Serosa'ruth nodded. "Then maybe I should go last, so I can untie the rope. I can just levitate down, anyway."

Miri crossed her arms. "Why not levitate all of us down?" She asked.

"Because I can't carry all of you at once, and Faelar's not here to carry the extra people down." The elven man answered, finishing his knots.

"Speaking of that thief, I hope he and the ranger are all right." Celdern sighed, scratching the back of his head. Biting back a snide remark, Miri sighed and walked towards the edge, watching Ky'itae as the elf scaled down the small cliff.

"I'm sure they're fine." She commented, though unsure of the truth herself, "And I suppose I'll go next after Ky'itae. Ladies first and all that crap."

"Who's a lady?" Celdern snorted. Serosa'ruth sent him a warning glare while Miri scowled.

"Oh, shut-up, Tethyrian." The Calishite growled, almost missing Ky'itae's safe landing at the bottom.

"You'll have to jump the last three feet, but it's not that bad! C'mon!" The elven fighter shouted up.

"Right, right." Miri muttered, taking a deep breath and gripping the rope tightly before gingerly scaling down it.

Celdern watched the other human slowly descended, already gripping the rope by the time she jumped into Ky'itae's ready arms and rebalanced herself. Just as paranoid as the cleric, if not more so, the bard muttered, "I hate all heights," and carefully scaled down the rope, allowing Ky'itae to slow his landing after his jump.

"All right, Sero, c'mon down!" Celdern called to their leader once his feet were on solid ground again.

"In a moment." Serosa'ruth replied, untying the rope. "Catch." He tossed down the rope, his three teammates seizing hold of it as he levitated himself to the ground below. Ky'itae handed him his rope, which the druid quickly wrapped up and placed back inside his magical pack. They looked about the larger section of the cavern, noting that patches of strange fungi dotted the floor, including capped stalks standing as tall as Celdern and glowing puffballs almost a yard wide.

"We should stay away from those fungi, huh?" Miri scrunched up her face, "They don't look too friendly."

Serosa'ruth shook his head, not even needing to inspect the fungus closely to know it was all harmless. "No, they're not deadly at all, trust me. The stalks are editable, and the puffballs can be distilled into a greenish liquor that packs quite a wallop."

Ky'itae's face brightened at the end of his explanation. "Really?"

Serosa'ruth frowned through his cloth mask, "No. The last thing you need is alcohol on hand." His best friend crossed her arms and pouted in only a half-mocking manner.

"Meanie."

"So, where to, then?" Miri asked, looking throughout the cavern. Even with the magic-granted infrared vision, the young woman couldn't clearly see the other end of the cavern.

Her male elf companion seemed not to be hindered as such, however. "Well, considering I can see a grick's nest near that iron door, I'd say we keep away from them. I'd like to avoid fighting with anything like them."

"How about that flight of stone stairs, then?" Ky'itae offered, pointing to the south of them. "It seems to be the only other exit, anyway."

"Hmm… Yes, it should be too far away for the gricks to see or reach us. Still, let's proceed with caution." Serosa'ruth began creeping towards the safer exit.

"Don't we always?" Miri chuckled, following his lead with the others.

The flight of stairs proved fairly short, and it wasn't long before the adventurers reached a smaller cavern, the thunder of water filling the chamber. A fast running stream ran along the opposite end of the cavern, disappearing into a dark shaft at the eastern end. A rough, winding path followed the stream towards the east.

"Stay clear of the stream, the ground's too slippery near it." Serosa'ruth warned after noting the stone near the water was covered in a thin, mossy slime. "You'd go sliding right into the stream, and I'd doubt you'd free yourself from the current before falling down what sounds like a waterfall."

"And who knows how big and bad a drop that is, huh?" Celdern chuckled grimly. "What about that path by the stream?"

"If we stay close to the wall here, we should be safe of the slippery ground. Hopefully the path leads somewhere safe." Serosa'ruth began trekking across the room, keeping his back to the stone wall. His companions followed suite, Miri yawning as she did so.

"I hope we find a safe spot soon, because I'm getting tired."

"As am I." Ky'itae agreed. "Sero, maybe we should call it quits for the day soon."

"If the chamber after this next flight of stairs is safe, we'll camp for the night." The druid agreed, "If not… well, I suppose we'll have to clear that challenge before finding another safe spot."

"Let's hope it's the former." The red-headed bard sighed. "The Darkvision scrolls I used won't last for more than another hour, and I'm out of them. I have torches, but I'd rather reserve them for as long as is possible."

"That's understandable." Serosa'ruth reached the next flight of steps. "Onward, then."

Though longer than the stairs that led into the slippery floored cave, the steps did not take long for the four to walk, and they soon found themselves in one more fairly large cavern, this one decorated by a loud waterfall spilling into a deep pool in the northwest wall and arrays of colorful minerals and lichens. After a brief, but careful inspection of the area, Serosa'ruth noted blind cavefish and white crayfish in the pool's waters, but nothing else of danger in the area.

"Well, looks like we camp here tonight, guys."

- - - - -

Faelar's ears perked up at what sounded like voices. Trusting his hearing – after all, his already admirable listening was amplified by his enchanted spike earrings – the thief grabbed his dagger and sword before cautiously walking towards the waterfall. Muttering a spell, Faelar caused the water to spread apart and away from him; something he hadn't bothered with before since he was already wet then, but preferred to stay dry now.

His Darkvision working full force, the rogue broke into a wide grin at the sight before him.

"Oi! OI! Ova 'ere!" He waved, grabbing his party's attention.

"Well, I'll be damned." Serosa'ruth laughed, spotting the young thief, as did the others by him, "Looks like the crafty bastard managed to make it this far as well."

"Damn straight dis 'crafty bastard' survived so far!" Faelar retorted, "'Aven't you learned not ta underestimate me yet?"

Only mildly surprised the rogue had heard his comment, the druid chuckled. "So I have. So I have."

_

* * *

Aw, damn. Two months without an update. Yes, I've been busy with school and other things (like getting the story and background for a new comic plotted out), but I DID have time here and there to work on this, I was just being lazy… I have no true excuse nor reason this time, and for that, I apologize. At least this chapter's longer than the last, eh? Also, we're getting closer to closing the "gap" SL and I had that I have to fill, so in about one or two more chapters, it should be filled in completely and I can get the next few chapters up much faster, as they're already written. Thanks for reading, and for your patience (if you're one of the older readers and have been waiting months for me to get my butt moving on this). Here's hoping I get the next installment up sooner._

_As always, comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated, and help keep us motivated… Hint, hint._


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